The Ultimate Phantom Thief
by Songbird45
Summary: In this crossover, Joker and Makato switch schools, which means Joker is trapped within Hope's Peak Academy with the other students locked in a deadly killing game. When his powers begin to emerge, he uses them in order to solve the murders, and assist in bringing an end to the game. This story is currently a work in progress
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Makoto Naegi stared out the window of a speeding train, watching the buildings go by rapidly. His thoughts were fixed on the school he was going to spend the next few years of his life attending. It had always been a dream for him to go to a school away from home. He would miss his family of course, his sister especially, but the rush of being alone somewhere new was more that enough for him to make the decision to accept the scholarship. It was one of the most prestigious schools in the country, well known for its intellectuals and athletes alike. Makato sighed while thinking it all over. It was someplace for the the gifted, the exceptional, their would be only one way to find out. The train slowed, and then rumbled to a stop, as the loudspeaker cracked with the voice of the conductor.

"Please carefully make your way to the exit doors please. This stop is by Hope's Peak Academy. Have a wonderful day everyone!" Makato moved over a bit so the kid next to him could stand up. He was a tall guy with curly black hair and dark rimmed glasses. He was sitting beside him silently the whole train ride. He grabbed his bag, and moved outside the train just as the doors were about to close. The train started up again, and Makato watched him as he made his way out of the station. Hope's Peak Academy was an amazing school with a great reputation, but it wasn't for someone like him. He was lucky enough to get accepted to Shujin Academy. He smiled as he relaxed in his seat. That was comforting, after all. He felt like the luckiest guy in the world.

Chapter 1- A Dream come

A nightmare beginning

Joker stood outside the walls of Hope's Peak Academy, his mouth opened slightly. It was amazing, and a little updating. His heart threatened to burst from his chest, it was almost a dream come true. A few weeks ago, he was forced to leave late from school. It had already been night out, and the streets were fairly quiet. As he walked, he could begin to hear sobbing in the distance, and a woman talking to someone in a low voice. As he approached the noise to investigate, he could see a woman fighting back against a man trying to force her into his car. The man was clearly drunk, and he was mumbling about how powerful he was while nervously looking around the street. Joker tooks some steps toward the man and then…

"Well you can't just stand there all day!" Joker snapped out of his memory and truned around to see who was talking to him. Joker stood outside the walls of Hope's Peak Academy, his mouth opened slightly. It was amazing, and a little intimidating. His heart threatened to burst from his chest, it was almost a dream come true. A few weeks ago, his life had changed completely. He was forced to leave late from school. It had already been night out, and the streets were fairly quiet. As he walked, he could begin to hear sobbing in the distance, and a woman talking to someone in a low voice. As he approached the noise to investigate, he could see a woman fighting back against a man trying to force her into his car. The man was clearly drunk, and he was mumbling about how powerful he was while nervously looking around the street. Joker tooks some steps toward the man who had noticed him watching and then…

"Well you can't just stand there all day!" Joker snapped out of his memory and turned around to see who was talking to him. A little while up the path was a girl in a bright red tracksuit, with her hair pointed up at a weird angle. In her hand was box that looked like it was filled with donuts of all shapes and sizes. Joker smiled a bit and rubbed the back of his head. He moved to catch up with her, and she smiled brightly as he approached. "I know what your feeling, this place is a lot to take in at first," They continued to walk up the path, approaching the doors to the school. "By the way, what year are you? We might be in the same class," He reached for the door as he began to answer, "I'm a-" Suddenly, the world began to shake. Joker fell to the ground, but felt nothing. The entire world was numb to him. He could feel his consiconous slipping away, as he struggled to speak. His eyes felt heavy, and finally he stopped fighting back.

When Joker awoke, his body felt like it had weighed a million pounds. There was an eerie silence to the room. When he stood up, he noticed something strange. His clothes had changed, he was in a striped jumpsuit as if he were a prisoner. His arms had been wrapped in chains, with a large chain ball wrapped around his ankle. He looked around, and noticed that he was in fact in a prison but like none he had ever seen. Thick barbed wire covered the walls, and the bars that separates him from freedom were also spiked. He moved toward the edge of the cage, and peered outside. An odd looking man sat behind a desk, with a long nose and extremely sharp features.

"I'm glad to see you have awoken, Prisoner. I'll be honest, I'm a bit surprised, I didn't expect you to arrive so soon. In fact, your wardens haven't even arrived yet," The man's voice was unnervingly deep, and he spoke about things that didn't make any sense.

"What is this place?" Joker spoke quietly

"My, my where are my manners," He rose his hand and placed it upon his chest. "My name is Igor, and I will be overseeing your rehabilitation. This is the velvet room, a place that is in between your world and that of others,"

"My rehabilitation?"

"Correct, your rehabilitation. There is a great ruin coming, something far worse than anything else than you could imagine. It will place the very fate of this world within your hands." Suddenly a loud ringing began to fill the room, and Joker looked around nervously. Igor continued to stare at him, and moved his hands together. "All will be told to you in due time Prisoner. For now our time is up. Until we meet again." Joker fell back into the bed he had awoke in, holding his head tightly as the ringing continued. His eyes began to feel heavy again, and he fell back asleep.

When he woke up, his face was pressed up against something cold and hard, but not too unfamiliar. He moved his head upward, still groggy from his sleep.

" _What a weird dream,"_ He had barely been able to process it when he realized he was in an empty classroom. On the windows stood huge steel plates, blocking any light from coming in. The walls were an extremely odd color, and strange words covered the chalkboard. Joker stood up, shaking his head trying to remember what had happened. " _I was walking into Hope's Peak with that girl when I felt my head get all fuzzy. Then I fell to the ground and...that's it."_ He looked around the room again, trying to notice anything that would tell him what had happened. " _Nothing. Is this Hope's Peak? Why would someone just take me in here and leave?"_ Outside Joker could hear footsteps of what seemed like a crowd approaching. He ran to the door, and shook on the handle. He heard some of the footsteps stop and some people talk.

"Yo, what was that?" The voice just sounded tough, like someone Joker wouldn't want to mess with.

"Should we check it out? It could be a trap…" The next voice was high and wheezy, and they sounded like they were out of breath. Joker started hitting the door instead,

"Is there anyone out there?" The footsteps came closer to the door, and Joker could see shadows from beneath the door. Suddenly, the door opened and Joker stepped back. In front of him were two guys, one wearing a leather jacket with his hair shaped like the head of a snake. The other one was large, wearing glasses and looked extremely nervous. Before Joker could say anything, the one in the leather jacket moved toward him and grabbed him by his collar lifting him into the air. "

"Alright start talking. Who the fuck are you?"

Joker put his hands on his arm and struggled to speak, while the other kid grabbed him and tried to pull him off, "Mondo I don't think he can talk. He seems like a student let him go!" The guy loosened his grip and finally dropped Joker who fell onto floor gasping the air. His eyes never left Joker, who finally rose up and began to explain himself.

"I'm a student of Hope's Peak Academy. People call me Joker," The snake guy moved toward him again, backing Joker against the wall.

"Oh your a funny guy then huh? Do I look like I'm joking buddy? What's your real name?"

Before Joker could explain, the bigger guy started talking again,

"Maybe we should join the rest of the group, he can explain everything when we're all there," Again, the man backed off, and Joker relaxed a little bit.

"Yeah, so that when he lies again I could knock his lights out and show why you can't fuck with me," He walked out quickly,and the other boy sat there rubbing the back of his head.

"Heh, sorry about him, he's kinda aggressive. Anyway, cmon the group is waiting,"

"The group?" But before Joker could say it the boy was out the door. He followed him as closely as he could, through the hallways of the building that must have been Hope's Peak. It wasn't like any school he has seen, as all the windows were blocked off, and metal gates seemed to restrict access to certain areas. Finally, they reached a small room filled with trophies, and the boy walked through it into a larger room that appeared to by a gym. As Joker followed him, he could a small crowd of people, staring silently at him and the other boy. Joker stared back at the crowd dumbfounded by what he was looking at. The people there were ridiculously diverse, like they had been pulled from a comic book. A man with large hair and a shirt hanging onto his shoulders broke the silence,

"Ah sweet another student! That makes sixteen right?" A blonde kid with thin glasses interupped him to speak

"Silence idiot. We have no idea who he is yet. This could be a trick by whomever trapped us here," Before Joker could speak giggling filled the room.

"My my it took you all long enough! Don't you know it's rude to keep your headmaster waiting?"

"Who the hell said that? Get out here so I can shove those creepy giggles down your throat," It was that snake haired guy, and he was spinning around wildly with a murderous intent in his eye. The giggling resumed again, and the voice continued

"Well when you ask so nicely, how can I refuse?" There was movement on the stage, and all eyes locked onto it as they waited to see what awaited. Without warning, a black and white stuffed bear leaped up seemingly from nowhere. Everyone stood still, locked in both confusion and panic. "Welcome students, to Hope's Peak Academy


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A Dangerous Game

They all continued to stand wordlessly, staring up at the stage where the stuffed bear stood, grinning back at them.

"I hope you're all ready to begin your school lives here! Who knows, maybe they'll even end here...puhuhuhu"

"What the hell is this supposed to be?" A new voice rose up, and stood apart from the rest of the crowd. It was mechanical, almost like it had come from a damaged radio. When Joker looked, he couldn't really believe what he was seeing. It appeared to be a girl dressed in full military gear, wearing a gas mask that hid her face. The only thing that was exposed on her was her hand, which Joker noticed had a peculiar tattoo of a wolf.

"Is this supposed to be some sort of joke? Do you even know who I am?" It had been the voice of the blonde boy again, who now stood beside the military girl. "Whoever you are, let me go now and I'll be sure that you won't be punished too harshly," The bear slammed down on the desk, and growled loudly as one of its eyes grew bright red.

'I'll be the one talking about punishments! Didn't you kids ever learn the meaning of respect," His body language immediately changed and he looked toward the floor, "I guess kids just don't respect authority like they used to," He sighed and pretended to kick dust off the floor while he placed his paws behind his back.

"Um...maybe we should just listen to him for now? Maybe he'll tell us how we can leave," This voice was soft, and almost angelic. It came from a girl who Joker swore he would recognize but he couldn't put his finger on who she was.

"I agree, let's hear this… thing out for now," The girl who spoke did so with authority, and Joker saw she had purple hair and was wearing white gloves. The bear smiled again, and stood up straight.

"Well, now let's begin.I'm Monokuma, and I will be your headmaster at this academy! I'm sure all you kids are bored of doing the regular school stuff, so I thoughtfully created a new, superior, fantastic, amazing, perfect, violent solution to that!"

"Violent…?" It was the angle voiced girl again, whose eyes were now wide and she was shaking. The bear smiled widely and his eye glowed bright red again.

"You students, in order to graduate, will have to play the Killing Game!" Everyone froze, staring up at the bear. Jokers head raced with with the bear had just said, but he could not bring himself to say a word. He just sat there with the rest of them in silence. "The first student to kill another and get away with it will be allowed to graduate! Graduation entitles you the right to leave the school, and return to your borning lives" The bear shrugged mockingly. "It is simple as that, no studies, or tests just good old fashioned killing!" Gasps filled the room as he explained everything aloud. The bear sat there, simply grinning down at everyone else.

"You gotta be fucking with me, what is this?" The kid with the snake hair walked toward the bear, with this hands balled up into fists. "You think I'm gonna listen to some bullshit a talking toy?" Once he reached the stage, the bear moved fast, quicker than it seemed possible for something with such short legs, and it stopped in the middle of the room.

"Violence against the headmaster will not be tolerated," He growled, bright metal claws emerging from his hands, "Anywho violate this rule will be punished," Everyone backed away from the bear, except for the girl in the military gear.

"What is the punishment?" She stood there and spoke calmly as everyone's eyes locked onto her.

"Puhuhuhu…. I'm glad you asked. Death. The punishment for any violation of the school rules is death." Without warning, the girl leapt toward the bear with the grace and speed of hardened agent. She grabbed the bear and slammed it into the ground by its head. Everyone watched as she stood over it, looking down on Monokuma.

"You're going to have to be faster than th…" Without warning, a spear came from seemingly nowhere and pierced her stomach. Before anyone could even make a sound dozens more emerged, sinking themselves into her body. A tiny bit of blood poured from her mouth as she struggled to breath. Joker watched the life leave the girls eyes as she struggled to comprehend what had just happened. The spears hit nearly every part of her body, though some had missed and pierced the floor instead. Finally, her body went limp and her eyes looked down. The spears held her in place as everyone stared in shock and horror at what had just happened.

"NOOOOOOOO," A voice screamed out and ran to her while the giggles of Monokuma filled the gymnasium. It was an oddly dressed girl with large hair wearing something fit for a model, and she grabbed the body while tears streamed down her face. The blood from the soldier girl was pouring out now in much larger streams. Joker noticed that the tattoo on her hand began to fade away as the blood covered it,

"Wait that doesn't seem right…" Before he could think it over, Monokuma began speaking again. "Now you understand kids, and I expect you to take me and this school, much more seriously" He laughed aloud again, and began to move toward the body. "I'm just gonna clean this up. After all, cleanliness is next to godliness puhuhuhu..." The girl who was holding the now limp corpse stood between Monokuma and the body. "Stay away from her! You can't take her away!" The giggles continued to pour out of the bear as it moved closer to her.

"Disobeying the headmaster so early in the year? That's not how you earn a good reputation,"

"Shut up!" The model girl cried out and grabbed one of the poles that had missed and been embedded into the floor. She lifted it up into the air, and stabbed it into the bear. The room grew quiet except for the heavy breathing of the model, who watched the bear with fire in her eyes. Suddenly, the bears eyes began to flash rapidly, and the giggling resumed but more broken and distorted. Without warning, the bear exploded into a ball of fire, knocking Joker along with the rest of the students down. Joker was the first to stand back up, along with the large kid who he had met in the classroom.

"What just happened…" They looked over to where all the events had taken place. There was only a pile of ashes.

"Could a bomb really do that?" Joker's head pounded as he tried to focus on what had just happened. A talking bear had just killed two people right in front of him, like something from a movie. As Joker went over there to investigate, the other students got up and returned to their feet. Joker kneeled to investigate the remains, and was quickly joined by the girl wearing gloves. She seemed just as curious as he was, and yet seemed more focus, like she knew exactly what she was looking for. She made a small sigh, and shook her head at Joker.

"She knows something is wrong here too…" He stood up with her, and they looked over at the rest of the group. They all seemed to be in shock, looking around waiting for anyone to say something.

'Useless... all of you. Picking fights with stuffed animals and getting yourselfs killed instead of looking for a way out of here…" The blond kid was talking aloud to nobody in particular as he walked alone out of the gym. Everyone else continued to stand around before finally another familiar voice arose.

"Um...maybe he's right. It's no good to just stand around here. What if someone comes looking for that creepy bear?"

"Asahina's right, there's no point in staying here. Let's go the cafeteria and regroup, then we can figure out how to deal with this mess," The one who responded to her was amounatin of a person that to Joker looked like some sort of oger or monster. Everyone murmured in agreement, and Joker followed them all into the cafeteria. There was plenty of chairs there, and people spread out once they entered, some moving into the kitchen while others lingered by the door. Joker gazed around the room before meeting the gaze of someone he recognized. It was that girl with the red track suit, the one he talked to on the first day. She waved to him, and he moved to sit at her table. She was only there with that large girl from the gym, who sat staring at Joker with her arms crossed.

"You know him?" The girl in the tracksuit giggled a little bit, and shook her head.

"Not really, but he's one of the last things I remember. He was there on the first day I came to Hope's Peak. We never even shared names." She smiled at Joker and continued, "My name is Aoi Asahina, and this is Sakura Ogami,"

"My name is Joker, it's nice to meet both of you." They both stared at him, puzzled. Sakura was the first to question him.

"Joker isn't really much of a name…"

"Yeah it's just I've had some...trouble recently and my parents had a lawyer who told me to keep my name a secret for a while so I keep my family safe," That didn't seem to help this as they continued to stare at him.

"Okay...well then Joker it's nice to meet you too," Asahina's smile returned to her face and Sakura seemed to relax a little bit. "If you don't mind me asking, what's your talent? I'm the ultimate swimmer, and Sayka here is the best fighter in the world!" Sayka seemed to blush a bit, a feat seemingly impossible thanks to her battle scarred features.

"Second best for now, but I appreciate the introduction," Joker laughed a little, nodding at both of them

"That's impressive. I don't think I actually have a talent, but the letter I had received said that I was the Ultimate Justice.." Asahina nodded, seemingly impressed by what he said

"Well that's pretty unique. You might get along with Taka over there," She pointed across the room to a boy standing still like a statue on the other side of the room. "He's the Ultimate Moral Compass. I'm not really sure what that means but I'm sure he would love to explain it to you," Joker nodded and looked around the room. His eyes settled upon the girl who's voice sounds so nice before. She was sitting at a table with an orange haired kid, talking quietly.

"Do you know them?" Both Aoi and Sayka turned around to see who he was talking about.

"You mean Sayaka? You've never heard of her? She's in that all girl pop group, they're the best!" Joker realized that he had heard her before. It wasn't really his style, but he had definitely seen her face on a poster and heard a few of her songs. Sayaka then filled him in on the other boy,

"That's Leon, I believe he said he was the Ultimate Baseball Player," She looked over at Aoi, "We might as well tell him who everyone is now, and save him the confusion later," Joker nodded in approval

"That would be helpful, I was stuck in that classroom for a while so when I saw you all for the first time, it was in the gym" Aoi nodded

"Oh yeah that's a good idea. Umm...well the two who found you were Mondo and Hifumi. Mondo is the Ultimate Biker Gang leader, and Hifumi does something with comic books I think… Some time of fan fiction. I didn't really want to ask" She shrugged and continued, " The girl he is sitting with right now is Celeste, the Ultimate Gambler. And Mondo is sitting with Chihiro, she's the Ultimate programmer. Um…" She turned to Sayaka and pouted, "I feel like I'm forgetting some people," Sayaka took over the explanations

"The people who aren't in this room are Toko, the Ultimate Writing Prodigy, Byakuya the Ultimate Financial Heir, and Kyoko who claims she forgot her ability." Joker cleared his throat and looked away,

"What about the other two? The ones who...you know," Asahina looked down as well, but answered.

"They were Junko, the Ultimate Fashionista, the other girl never gave us a name. Nobody could tell who she was under that mask either," Then from seemingly nowhere, the sounds of giggling could be heard. Everyone silenced, and the doors opened. Monokuma waddled inside the room completely fine, all the damage he had sustained earlier seemingly absent.

"What's all this? Don't you kids know, it's almost night time! Haven't you guys even read the rules yet?"

"What the fuck, how are you here? I saw a pile of ashes that should have been you!" Mondo was standing up, pointing at the bear who was waddling casually into the room.

"Hey let's not worry about the little stuff like that! We have much more important things to talk about…" Monokuma jumped on top of a table in the middle of the room, and pulled out a box, placing it on the floor. "It's been two hours twenty six minutes and thirty seven seconds since I told you about the killing game and so far we've lost two students!" He smiled, his eyes glowing bright red, "What you I've decided is that we need to get things back on track, and show that this game isn't over yet!" He got off the table and walked to the door. "You kids have fun with my incentive, just remember…" He flashed his claws out, "There is only one way out of here," He left, and the trance he had on the students broke. Sayka was the first to react,

"Was he right? Is the killing game really gonna happen?" Her voice was saddened and afraid.

"No, we can't let that happen. Sayaka, Joker some help please?" Aoi looked at Joker and Sayka before getting up and grabbing the box that Monokuma had dropped. She nodded to Joker, "Can you pick that up please? Make sure it doesn't open," Joker looked down at the box, which was sealed at the topic wih duct tape. When he lifted it up, it felt light like there was barley anything in there. Aoi continued to speak out loud, "Whatever is in here, Monokuma wants us to see because he thinks it will make us kill people. So, let's not look at them,"

"Who elected you class president? Maybe we should see what's in there," It was Mondo again, and he moved toward Joker. Sayaka moved quickly, stepping in front of him with arms crossed.

"That box is nothing but trouble. The less we know, the better. Unless you want to start killing people?" Mondo looked back at her before facing everyone else in the room. Nobody met his gaze, and he stormed out of the cafeteria muttering swears. Joker nodded to Aoi, and the three of them moved out of the cafeteria together, with the case in Joker's hands.

Once they reached the hallway, Aoi let out a deep sigh.

"That was the right thing to do, right? I didn't mean to act like I was the boss of evryone or anything…" Sayaka put her hand on her shoulder, and Joker smiled at her and nodded. Aoi smiled back and put her finger on her chin. "Now where do we put the box?"

"It would probably be most safe in one of our rooms. Once we lock the door, nobody can get to it, it says so in the rules," Sayaka took the box from Joker's hands. "I'll keep it in mine,"

"Rules?" Joker looked over at the two of them confused, and Aoi reached into her pocket and pulled out a tablet.

"Yeah, it says all the rules on here. Don't you have one, I woke up with one in my pocket," She pointed to Jokers pants, and reached into his pockets and pulled one out.

"Oh! Yeah I guess I do. I'll take a look at the rest later," All of a sudden the television in the corner of the room flicked on. Joker hadn't even noticed it at first, but when he thought about he realized there was a lot of televisions spread across the building. On the TV was Monokuma, sitting down looking like any other normal toy.

"Okay everyone, sweet dreams! Goodnight, sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite…"

The TV flicked off quickly, and the three of them looked at eachother.

"I guess it's night. Hard to tell when all the windows are blocked," Asahina shrugged and looked at Joker, "It's probably better if we all just go back to our rooms now and meet to talk about the box more in the morning," Joker nodded, and followed her to the dorms. Once they reached them, Joker found his room and waved to Sayaka and Aoi, who walked together back to their rooms. Joker went in, and immediately lied down on his bed. His body felt like it weighed a million pounds, and his eyelids felt even heavier.

"I guess it's pretty late...I didn't even realize how tired I was," Before he knew it, his eyes were shut and Joker was asleep. He woke up to the sound of tapping on the metal. When he opened his eyes, he was dressed in prisoner clothes again, and was in a cell. He got up and rubbed his head, turning to the bars. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw two little girls standing by the bars. Behind them, Igor sat looking at Joker.

"Welcome back prisoner. We have much to discuss,"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A taste a power

A Glimpse of death

"Wipe that stupid look off your face prisoner! Master has things he wishes to discuss," The little girl on the right of Joker whacked his fingers with a stick, and he stepped back rubbing them,"

"Things seem to be getting more complex Prisoner, but ruin is still coming. Your rehabilitation is going well, but we must move things along more quickly. Girls, let us begin."

The girls snapped their feet together like they were guards in the military. They moved away from the bars, and walked out of Jokers sight. "Let release the shadow," Joker stepped back away from the cage with wide eyes. Suddenly, a creature appeared in front of him that looked like a halloween jack-o-lantern. It didn't have a body, just a floating cloak with a pumpkin head that grinned creepily at Joker.

"Hehehehe… A human all for me? It's been so long since I was able to watch one of you burn," Fire lit behind the creatures eyes and Joker backed up against the rear wall of the cell. It twisted its head, and a small flame shot forward striking Joker in the face. He screamed aloud, and grabbed the wall for support. The barbs on the wall pierced his hand and he let out a low moan. Blood poured from his hand as he attempted to shield his face from the blows. Suddenly, a voice filled his head as another piece of flame struck his arm.

"Such a cowardly fate for the Ultimate Justice isn't it? Don't you wish to stand up, and beat this creature back?" Joker let out a scream as he felt like the fire attack his skin, and the voice scream in his head. "Forge the pact, and gain the power to share your justice with the world" The pain multiplied as the voice rose in volume "The world is full of sin and despair! Take up arms and show the world the strength of your will!" Joker cried out and a blinding light filled the cell. When it cleared, Joker found himself on his feet with a mask on his face. It felt like it had been stitched against his skin. He tried to yank it off, blood pouring from his face as he did so. When it finally broke off, a creature appeared above him, almost double his height. The mask returned to his face, but more comfortable than before. The creature spoke in the same voice that had filled his head, "Now the pact is sealed, you may wield my power. Come, let's show this fool the power of Arsene!" Joker rose his hand, and a dark power began to build at his fingertips. He looked at the monster in front of him, and the darkness shot forward from his hands, knocking the monster into the bars of the cell behind him.

"Hehehe...more than human…" The creature disappeared into a small piece of smoke, and Joker stood still staring at his hand. It was now gloved, and when he looked at the rest of his body his clothes had changed. He was wearing a black coat, and what seemed like armor underneath. It looked like a dress shirt, but it feel like he had a layer of steel protecting his skin. He looked up and saw the creature that called itself Arsene floating above him. Before he could say anything, the being dove toward him, and seemed to vanish into the mask. Immediately after, his clothes changed and he was wearing the prisoner's outfit once again.

"I'm sorry for the surprise Prisoner, but believe me when I say that it's all for the sake of your rehabilitation. Ruin will not wait for us to prepare you see, so time isn't on our side." Joker moved toward the bars and the two wardens returned to their positions.

"What just happened?" As soon as Joker spoke, one of the girls struck the bars with her stick.

"Silence inmate! Our master will explain things when he wishes." Joker looked down at her, and then back up at Igor

"My apologies once again Prisoner, I don't think I introduced you to your wardens. This is Justice, and Caroline." Joker looked at the two girls. The one who carried the stick was Caroline, while the other more quiet one, was Justine. She began to speak with Joker while looking at her clipboard,

"We are here to help guide you in your rehabilitation process,"

"Yeah, but don't think that means you can get lazy!"

Joker stared at them briefly before returning his gaze to Igor. The last few minutes were making his head spin, but at the moment the girls didn't seem to be the most confusing or threatening. Igor continued to speak,

"As I said before Prisoner, time is not on our side so we must speak quickly. What you just witnessed was the emergence of your persona. While in any place similar to this Velvet room, you will be able to call upon it to defeat those who stand in your way. It is important that you find others who share this ability as you, for they will become confidents who will help you on your journey." Joker tried to digest what he had been saying, but it didn't seem to make any sense.

" _What is he talking about? How could I have a power like that inside of me waiting to come be released?"_ A loud ring began to fill the cell, and Joker backed away from the cell wall.

"Time escapes us prisoner. For now, I instill two gifts upon you, the third eye and the navigator. If you focus your mind, you may be able to see things that may have escaped you before. The navigator can be explained at another time, and you will find it on the tablet you received previously. We have put a great deal of faith in your prisoner, I'm sure you won't disappoint." The ringing continued ti grow louder, and Joker felt his body weaken. He sat down on the bench he awoke on, and shut his eyes.

When Joker reawoke he was on his bed in the room he had been given. There was a loud knocking at his door.

" _That dream...was it real? Do I have some sort of power?"_ The knocking continued and Joker got up to investigate. He opened it to find Aoi standing there smiling

"Morning! Cmon, you can't sleep the day away, we have plenty to do." Joker stared at her confused, rubbing the sleep from his eyes

"We do?" Aoi nodded her head quickly, and leaned in to whisper to him.

"Sakura can't leave her room, she doesn't want to leave the motive unguarded. We'll meet up with her after breakfast," She stepped back and nodded. "I'll be waiting for you there!" She jogged off toward the room, and Joker sighed rubbing the back of his head. With all the weirdness of the dream, he had nearly forgotten the situation they were in. Trapped in a school, with a teddy bear bent on seeing them kill each other. It couldn't possibly be real.

" _Then again, if that dream was real…"_ Joker reached into his pocket and removed the handbook. Once he opened it, his eyes widened as there was something on there he hand;t seen before. There was a red app, that seemed to have an entirely black eye in the center. He tapped on it, but nothing occured. " _Could this be the navigator that he was talking about? What can it possibly do?"_ Joker placed the device back into his pocket, and walked out of his room, shutting the door behind him. " _I can figure that out later. Right now Aoi needs me."_ He made his way into the cafeteria, where he saw Aoi alone at a table, with a large donut sitting in front of he. She was looking up, seemingly unaware of everything around her. Joker moved to sit with her, and she broke from her trance.

"Jeez, I was waiting for you forever. Aren't you going to get something to eat?" Joker shook his head and she shrugged, picking up her her donut. She wolfed it down, eating it while Joker's eyes widened. She smiled widely as she chewed the last bits down, and saw he Joker as he stared at her with surprise in his eyes. "Eh, sorry about that. I just really loved donuts…"

Aoi looked away and blushed a bit. Joker laughed it off, shaking his head.

"Don't worry about it." The smile returned to her face, and she leaned in closer across the table.

"So me and Sakura came up with a plan last night that I think is gonna work. We're going to switch which room the box stays in each day randomly, so that way the three of us will have the opportunity to come out of there rooms." Joker nodded, and she continued.

"So when we leave here, try to get to Sakura quickly and grab the box. The less people that see you, the better." She leaned back and sighed gently "We're so busy being scared of each other, we haven't time to think about escaping this place.

"What if I got the box now, and you go with Sakura to look for a way out?" Aoi's face brightened up at the proposal.

"That's a good idea! I'll come by later, and tell you who should hold onto it tomorrow." Joker nodded and rose out of his seat. He waved to Aoi, and began to make his way out of the cafeteria.

" _I'll use the time alone to figure out all this persona stuff. I need to focus on one thing at at time."_ He made his way down the hallway, checking the doors as he passed. He finally reached the room that Sakura was in. He knocked, and the door opened. " _I guess when your that big, you don't need to worry about someone trying to get past you"_

"Good morning Joker. It looks like Asahina told you about our plan" Joker nodded, and Sakura disappeared inside for a moment, coming back with the box in her hand. "Just go right to your room, understood? And remember, don't open it. We have no idea what Monokuma wants, but it can't be good." Joker took the box from her hands.

"I will, Aoi is waiting for you in the cafeteria." Sakura shut the door behind her, and nodded as he walked past Joker the way he had just come.

" _She's right. I need to get to my room quickly,"_ Joker began to walk toward his room quickly. He was about to turn a corner when suddenly someone called out his name. He turned to see who it was. Sayaka stood there, and waved him over to her. Without even realizing it, he was moving toward her.

"That's the box that Monokuma gave us all right?" She had a curious look on her face, but Joker could tell she already knew the answer. He could feel sweat dripping down his back as he answered her.

"Yeah it is…" He kept looking at her as he spoke, trying to remain calm but his mind was racing. " _Why am I so nervous right now? If she asks to look inside, I just have to say no and move on"_

"Oh...do you think we can open it?" She stood closer to Joker and began to whisper, "It'll be our little secret I promise," Joker took a deep breath and shook his head.

"I don't think that'll be a good idea," She pouted and looked up him with large eyes.

"I guess he was right then, its fine," She looked over Joker's shoulder, but he stared at her,

"Who are you…" Before he knew what was happening, his head hit the floor and pain flooded his body. His vision began to darken, and he tried to get up. The box was laying next to him, the contents still secured inside. When he tried to rise, and shoe hit his chest and he collapsed back onto the floor. He looked up to see Byakuya standing above him with a disapproving look on his face.

"You idiot. Trying to hide something from us all, why do you weaklings think that you have any power?" He removed his foot from on top of Joker and Mondo looked came into his sight.

"I told you this dumbass wouldn't let it go easy, even if we got the girl to ask.

"It doesn't matter anymore. Come, let's see exactly what they were trying to hide." Joker could see Byakuya pick up the box, and Mondo climbed on top over Joker.

"Do us a favor and stay down alright? Monokuma wouldn't like if you feel asleep out here, get it?" Joker could hear their footsteps as they walked away, but Sayka didn't move. She stood, standing over Joker looking at his face.

"We can't just leave him here, right? What if someone finds him like this and does something?" The footsteps stopped, and Mondo's voice could be heard again.

"Guess your right. I'll meet you guys there, I'll drop him somewhere safe." Sayaka took one more look at Joker, and went off with Byakuya. Mondo approached Joker and grabbed his arms. He began to drag him, and they finally reached a dark room with a metal grate separating the room in two. Mondo set Joker up against the grate. "Listen, don't try to follow me, or I'll show you how hare I hit when I'm pissed alright?" He quickly got up, and walked away while Joker sat there rubbing his head.

" _What is this place?"_ He looked around but it was two dark to see anything. He felt his head, and winced as he found the place where Mondo hit him. He stood up leaning against the gate for support. On the other side of it, sat a huge metal contraption that appeared to be glowing with heat. " _Is that an incinerator? Why the hell would that be in a school?"_ He held his head for a few moments, and tried to move back.

"Pathetic, and to think Master has such high hopes for you" Joker's eyes widened as he saw the twins from his dream standing there in front of him. One was looking at him with a disapproving look while the other stared at her clipboard. Behind them, was a blue cell door that seem to pulse lightly with power.

"You? How did you get here?" The girl with the stick sighed and the other one looked up to answer "Master said it would be best if you had an easier way to access the Velvet Room. We are here to ensure you make good use of it." The other one continued to speak

"This all stays quiet inmate. Master gave you the gift to see things like this even in reality, so don't go talking about this to everyone else!" She then opened up the cell door and went inside, while the other remained.

"One of us will always be here if you need any guidance. Be sure to come if you have any issues regarding your rehabilitation." Before Joker could respond, the door burst open and Aoi came rushing in.

"Joker what's the matter with you! Chihiro just came and told us…" Her eyes widened as she saw the pained expression on Joker's face and she ran over to him.

"Wait are you okay? What happened to you?" Joker began to explain what had happened, and Aoi's face began to grow more saddened. He finished, telling her that he had just managed to get up when she had burst into the room. She covered her mouth and tears began to well up in her eyes, "Joker I'm so sorry, this is my fault. I didn't mean for you to get hurt," Joker shook his head and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm alright really, don't worry about it. Do you know where they took the box?" She nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Um, yeah Sakura went to go get it. They probably already opened it and took whatever was inside though…" She took a step back breathing deeply, and Joker let go of her

"Let's go back to the cafeteria then. They're probably all already there." Asahina nodded, and moved toward the door. Joker took one more look at Justine, who was carefully examining her clipboard. He then followed Asahina out the door, and they ran back to the cafeteria. When they got there, it was insanity. Everyone was standing still watching Sakura back Byakuya, Sayaka, and Mondo into a corner. The box was nowhere to be seen, but Sakura looked like she was prepared to kill them on the spot.

"Give me whatever was in that box right now" Mondo was standing beside Byakuya and they were both yelling back at her.

"It has nothing to do with the rest of you."

"Yeah! We don't owe you anything so why don't you just back off bitch?" Meanwhile behind both of them, Sayaka stood trembling with her eyes wide. When Joker looked at her, he could see darkness in her eyes. Something had changed inside her head, she was a different person now, corrupted by something he could not even understand.

"Sakura. Stop!" Aoi's voice rang out from across the cafeteria and when it did, Sakura immediately stopped moving towards them The two boys relaxed a bit, while Joker and Aoi moved toward them. "Guys, you don't have to tell us what you took from that box, can you just tell us where it is?" Both stayed silently, looking away and refusing to meet her gaze. From behind them, Sayaka's soft voice rose up

"The AV room...the box is in the AV room." They both looked back at her and sighed, Mondo scratching the back of his head.

"She's not lying, it's in there. I think you should all go have a look," His eyes moved downward to the floor, and Joker noticed he seemed more vunderbale than he had before. "There's something for each of us but I can't say anymore. You just have to see for yourself…" Joker looked over at Asahina and nodded. She turned around and tapped Sakura on the shoulder.

"C'mon, let's go." They moved away from the three of them, and the rest of the students followed them. Joker walked beside Asahina, following her to the room they had mentioned. Once they were inside, they saw the box sitting on the table with the lid opened. Inside, lay a bunch of discs with the names of each of the students on there. They all grabbed which one was there's leaving the box empty. The AV room was filled with small with small computers with disc slots beside them. Each student took a spot, and Joker was one of the last ones to sit down. He looked around, watching everyone else put them in, and place headphones over the heads. He did the same, and when he did the screen flashed on. A video began to play of his parents, sitting on the couch at their house. His Dad began to speak, and Joker could feel a pang of sadness in his body.

"Hi son! We're so proud you could make it into such a great school. Try not to work yourself too hard." His Dad gave him a thumbs up as his Mom began to

speak

"We'll miss you honey, come home whenever you're feeling a little homesick okay? We love you so mu-" Suddenly the picture changed and his parents were gone

The room was torn up and destroyed, like it had been a war zone. Joker could see the light from a small fire in the corner of the screen. The voice of Monokuma began to play through the headphones.

"Puhuhuhu...Looks like your parents got into some trouble here Joker. I wonder if they're going to be alright? Remember, there is only one way to find out puhuhuhu…"

"No...no that can't be right," Joker ripped off the headphones and looked around the room. He could tell by their faces that they had seen something similar. He could hear people sobbing, and someone was yelling out loud at the one of the screens. Joker could feel it in the room, there was a feeling of pure insanity. Nothing made any sense, but the videos looked so real. " _There has to be some mistake. How could he have done that, to all of us? Where were the police, or the government?"_ Joker flinched as one kid brushed past him. It was Leon, he was muttering aloud to himself,

"No fuck this place man, I gotta get out of here. I gotta go...she's waiting for me I can't stay here." He ran out of the room as Joker looked down at the screen. There was a feeling building up inside of him, something he had never know before so intensely. It was a feeling of pure and utter despair.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A dark Temptation

Joker made his way out of the AV room alone, his head racing with what he had just seen. Everyone else had already left, he had seen Sakura walking holding Asahina tightly. It was hard to tell but even Sakura seemed shaken by whatever she had seen.

"So this was Monokumas plan… He has our families and our friends hostage. Or maybe he already killed them. No… I can't think like that." Joker continued walking to the halls, and before he knew it he had ended up back at the incinerator room. Joker looked around and walked inside to find Justine standing there flipping through her clipboard.

"I'll be honest Inmate, I did not expect you to return to me so soon." Joker walked over to her, and she looked up at him. She must have seen the hurt on his face and her voice softened,

"What can I help you with?" Joker took the tablet that he help the navigator app on it and showed it to her.

"He wasn't able to explain how this works." Justine sighed, and closed her eyes.

"It is a...difficult thing to describe fully. For you to understand fully, I need to inform you about palaces." Joker moved against the wall and leaned, while Justine began her explanation.

"Individuals who are guilty of terrible acts will have palaces within their minds. Think of them as places they have where they are safe and in power. The worse they are, the more grand and elaborate their palaces will be. Within each of these places is a treasure, something that the corrupted individual holds in very high regard. If these treasures are removed from the palace, the corrupted individual will become unable to withhold their guilt and be urged to confess their crimes to the world." Joker's eyes widened as he heard he speak.

"Your saying I could make anyone atone for their crime if I steal something from inside their minds?"

Justine shook her head and clarified

"Only those who have committed terrible acts can be redeemed through this method. The navigator will help you enter these palaces." Joker stared down at the app. It glowed red with some unknown power.

"Could something like this really have that much power?" Joker returned his attention to Justine. "I tried to activate it before but nothing happened" Justine again shook her head.

"It needs a destination before it can be activated. For one to be loaded in, you need the targets name, a keyword, the actual location and the what their palace appears to be."

"How will I know?" Justine smiled a little, and returned to her clipboard

"That is all I can tell you for now inmate. Some things you must discover for yourself." Joker sighed and placed the tablet back into his pocket. A bell rang out through the room, and a TV flicked on in the corner. Monokumas face flashed upon the screen in the same way it did last time.

"Okay everyone, sweet dreams! Goodnight, sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite…" The Tv flashed off again, and Joker made his way to the door.

"Rest up inmate. You'll need to keep up your strength," Joker turned around and faced her with a confused look on his face. She was still looking at her clipboard but the smile remained on her face.

"Yeah...thanks for your help," He left the room and made his way down the hall. The corridor was already empty, and Joker's footsteps rang out loudly. Suddenly he came to a stop when he saw Monokuma waddling down the hall. The bear walked up to him and stopped,

"Don't you know it's late? With nobody around it would be easy for someone to…well you get the idea." He giggled and and flashed his claws. "Bears are nocturnal, so you better watch out when the lights go out,"

"I...don't think that's right. Why are you out here anyway?" Monokuma returned to his normal stance and crossed his arms.

"Some of your fellow classmates decided they would share a room tonight. I run a respectable school here and I can't let that naughty business go unpunished!" He began his giggling again and leaned in to talk to Joker. "Care to take a peek? I won't tell puhuhuhu," Joker stepped away from the bear, feeling his cheeks get a little red.

"No thanks I'll pass," Monokuma shrugged and walked past him.

"Suit yourself. If you'll excuse me, I have some students to discipline, and some salmon to eat!" As soon as Monokuma was far enough away Joker jogged back to his room and quickly shut the door.

"What the hell is he talking about?" Joker shook his head and lied down on his bed. "It's a waste of time trying to understand that thing" He took out his tablet and looked it over. "Palaces, personas, stealing people's treasures, what does any of it mean? And why now?" He rubbed his head and winced in pain. He touched the spot where Mondo hit him and felt a large bump. "What an asshole…" Soon, the pain faded away and Joker was asleep.

In the morning Joker rose up, but this time nobody was at his door. "Everyone's probably still pretty shaken up from yesterday. I should see how Sakura and Asahina are doing." He took a cold shower, letting the water hit the bump on his head. When he checked to see what clothes he had, he could see the draws had been filled with the exact same outfit he had been wearing. After getting dressed, he went out into the hallway and walked alone into the cafeteria. Everyone was already inside and he could hear them talking before he even entered. Once there, he could see Asahina and Sakura in the usual spot. He waved over to them, got some food, and sat down.

"Good morning…" Asahina spoke in her usual chipper voice but Joker could tell something was more off. He nodded to both of them and began eating. Before long, someone burst into the cafeteria breathing loudly. Joker turned to see Toko, the ultimate writing prodigy, looking around wildly.

"Everyone, quickly you have to see this!" Joker turned back to Asahina and Sakura, who both nodded and stood up. They ran to Toko, and she began to guide everyone through the hallways. Joker was one of the first to reach the room where she stopped, and he ran inside. It was a dorm room, exactly like his own except there were some baseball stuff laying around like jerseys and balls. Joker looked around the room and froze. On the bed was a body, its chest covered with blood. The face had been covered with a sheet, and a knife had been driven into it. Joker stepped back covering his mouth.

"That's...Leon?" He said out loud just to make sure, but there was no mistaking it. The clothes were his, and they were all standing in his room. "Who…who could do something this brutal" Then without warning Monokuma burst into the room.

"Sheesh, you guys finally made it. I was worried this guy was gonna be a skeleton by the time you guys came." Sakura came and stood between the body and Monokuma.

"This isn't the time for your games Monokuma. One of our friends just died here and I will not let you interfere."

"Your friends? You hardly knew him." Monokuma flashed his claws out and his eye glowed bright red, "That's your problem, your bonds and relationships make it harder to kill and then you end up like star here," Sakura moved toward him and Monokuma put up his paws in defense. "Before you try anything, there's some new information I have for you that I can't say if I explode again." Sakura continued to stare at him unmoving but Joker put his head on her shoulder and shook his head. Monokuma resumed speaking, "Thank you. Now there is one thing I forgot to mention before...not only does someone have to murder one of their fellow classmates, but they have to get away with it too!" Before Joker knew it Byakuya was standing beside him, speaking sternly to Monokuma,

"Elaborate. What do you mean by get away with it?" Monokuma giggled and shook his head.

"I don't have to. Ladies and gentlemen please check your tablets!" Joker removed his from his pocket and turned it on. The section that previously stated rules now said "updated". Joker tapped on the screen and read the rules to himself,

"Rule #7: Once a murder takes place, a class trial will begin shortly thereafter. Participation is mandatory for all surviving students.

Rule #8: If the guilty party is exposed during the class trial, they alone will be executed.

Rule #9: If the guilty party is not exposed, they alone will graduate, and all remaining students will be executed." Mondo was the first to react

"Your fucking kidding me. The rest of us will be killed if we pick the wrong person?" He cracked his knuckles and and looked around widely, "Okay talk now, which one of you little shits stabbed him huh?" Kyoko responded to him,

"I doubt it will be so simple,"

"The hell you just say to me?" She remained calm, unfazed by his threats.

"We're going to have solve this murder traditionally. Isn't that right Monokuma?" The bear nodded, giggling. Joker's mind began to race.

"Someone here murdered Leon...and I have to find out who or else we all die. What can I do…" He looked down at the tablet again and exited the rules app. Before he turned it off, he saw the navigator app glowing softly. "That it! The metaverse, someone here has a palace, I just need to follow the steps! I need to know everything...I have to get to Justine." Joker hadn't even noticed Monokuma handing everyone a file.

"This is a file that should help you figure this all out. Afterall, you don't have the time do to everything? See? I'm one fair bear puhuhuhu…" But Joker wasn't even paying attention. Once all the files were handed out Monokuma made his way to the door. "Good luck everyone!" He sprinted out of the room, pushing everyone away so he could get out the door. He ran down the hallway not paying attention to anything around him. He stopped at the incinerator room and went in. Justine was still there in the calm demnor she always possessed.

"Something the matter, inmate? You seem unusually stressed," Joker took the tablet out of his pocket and pointed to the metaverse navigator.

"Would this work for a murder? Is that enough for someone to have a palace?" Justine was silent and seemed to consider what he had said. Finally she answered,

"Perhaps, it depends on the case itself. There is no penalty for trying," Joker paced around the room, thinking it over as Justine's eyes followed him.

"Think! Who could it be...the more time I waste the…" The door began to creak open and Joker turned around swiftly. Kyoko stood there, looking at Joker suspiciously. They both stared at each other for a moment before she finally broke the silence.

"What are you doing here Joker?" She looked around the room, her eyes passing right over Justine and the cage. "I'm not gonna be able to do this alone," He turned to her and moved quickly up to her. She stood still with her arms crossed as he spoke

"What if I told you, I make whoever killed Leon admit what they did. I just need your help," Kyoko stood there, her face unchanged but something flicked her eyes. She tilted her head and responded,

"Okay I'm listening"


	5. Chapter 5

The Birth of a Thief

Joker did his best to explain everything that Justine had told him, leaving out all the details regarding the twin wardens and the velvet room. Kyoko simply stood there nodding along as Joker continued his ramblings. He finally finished, taking a breath waiting for a response. She sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"Now if I trust you, and believe for a moment anything you said is remotely true, what exactly do we need to get into the murders head?" Joker took out his tablet and showed her the app,

"We need their name, a keyword, what they see their palace as, and the actual location."

Kyoko nodded, and took the tablet from his hands.

"Joker," she spoke into the app and the device beeped.

"No destination available."

"Of course…" She looked back up at Joker and then at the device. "Sayaka Maizono" The device dinged with a sound of positivity this time. Jokers eyes widened as he heard it,

"What? That can't be right…" In his head a picture flashed of Sayaka smiling while talking to Leon. How could she be capable of doing something so brutal? Another thought came into his head of her standing over his body when he had been knocked down by Mondo. Even then, her face showed concern, and she was the one who suggested that Joker be taken somewhere safe. Joker looked over at Kyoko who was still studying the device

"That was only a theory but it looks like I could be correct. Now we need a keyword…" Joker thought it over, and placed out his hand. Kyoko eyed him suspiciously, but gave him the device,

"Idol," The device dinged again, and Joker handed it back. "I guess it must be her…"

"You said actual location and her cognitive location right? Well, we're trapped in here, so it has to be school," Once again, the same noise when the word school came out. She nodded and spoke aloud once again with confidence,

"Stage" The device dinged for a final time and suddenly the world began to warp. "Destination accepted," Joker held onto his head as everything in the room twisted. Before they knew what was happening, they were in a ritzy looking dressing room, with mirrors on the walls and beautiful costumes all around them.

"I guess it worked…" Joker turned to look at Kyoko whose face was still unreadable. She was looking around the room, and began to move, running her gloved hands along everything.

"No drug could work this quickly and appear this real, so you must have been telling the truth." She stopped and stared at Joker, and Joker tilted his head back at her. "Why are you wearing that?" Joker looked down at his body and saw that he was wearing the same thing he had seen in the velvet room. It was the long overcoat with the tough armored shirt underneath. When he felt his face, he found the mask that had been placed on his face when he made the deal with Arsene.

"I'm not sure...I think it lowers the defenses of whoever consciousness we enter if they can't recognize who we are," Joker looked around and rubbed the back of his head. He pointed at one of the extravagant dresses that lay on the rack behind them. "You should probably get changed, I have no idea what would happen if she recognized us while we were in here." Kyoko shook her head after taking one look at the costumes. Joker continued to stare at her, and she sighed.

"Fine, wait outside. I'll be done in a minute…" Joker nodded and went outside the room. There was a long hallway they seemed to continue forever. All the other doors were labeled with stars, but they were blackened and dull. Joker turned around and looked at the door they had just come from. The star was extremely bright, beautifully polished with gems at each point. Right in the center was "Sayaka" printed in beautiful cursive. While he read it, Joker felt someone tap him on his shoulder.

"What…" Suddenly he found his face smacked against the door, as whoever tapped him grabbed his head. Before he could react the forced pulled him back again, and slammed him into the door hard enough to open it. Joker fell onto the dressing room floor dazed and confused. He looked up to see a topless Kyoko covering herself with her arms blushing deeply. He turned around quickly, and a large man dressed in a black suit walked in.

"Trying to steal from the idol eh?" He cracked his neck and got into a fighting stance, "You will pay dearly for your tresspasses," Joker got up, and the man suddenly bent back with inhuman flexibility. Dark matter began to pour from his body before he exploded and a new creature stood in his place. It looked like a small dragon, hovering in place while breathing small amounts of flame.

"That's not what I expected…" Joker felt the urge to touch his mask. He touched it, and behind him he felt Arsene emerge like it had before. He raised his hand and the dark energy built up at his fingertips. This time, the creature seemed to smile through its fanged mouth as the energy shot from Joker's hand. The creature shrugged off the blow, and flew directly at Joker with malicious intent. The dragon struck him in the chest, knocking him into the wall shattering a mirror. Joker layed on the ground groaning in pain as the beast snickered at his crumpled form.

"Now it's my turn," The creature and Joker both turned to Kyoko who was holding a piece of the shattered glass. She moved quickly, stabbing the shard directly into the monster's back. It screeched loudly, and bat its wings around widely. One of the the strikes hit Kyoko tossing her across the room and smacking her against the wall. Joker watched groan aloud as the monster struggled to regain its composure.

"You troublesome humans...are entirely worthless. Your only purpose in this world is to pay homage to the glory that is the voice of Sayaka!" The creature used its tail to flick a shard of glass from the floor at Kyoko. It hit her side with a a wet thud as she cried out loud. "You have no place here, submit and accept your punishment!" He continued to shoot the pieces of glass the glass as the blood began to pool around her. Joker watched as he struggled to rise, but each time he rose his hand to use his power the creature smacked it back with his wings. Joker watched her fight to stay awake as the shards continue to fly. His eyes widened as he noticed a mysterious white light surround her, and a voice began to fill the room.

"Enough of this foolishness. You have borne the scars of war long enough, and now it is time for you to reatilate," Kyoko cried out and rose up to her feet despite the wounds in her body as the voice continued, "Let us forge a pact, between goddess and mortal, to smite those who are blind to justice. Wield my blade, and show all your purpose on this earth!" A wave of energy surged through the room, knocking the creature back.

"What is this?" Kyoko stood there, her wounds healed from her body. She was now dressed in a cloak covered with steel plating on the outside. She was wearing a mask that seemed to entirely cover her her stood a huge woman, blindfolded, holding a sword in one hand and a scale in the other. Kyoko raised her hand at the creature and yelled,

"I accept your offer Themis. Show this sinner our power!" A bright white beam of light shot from her hand as the woman behind her pointed her sword forward. It struck the creature, and it screamed as it melted into a black matter. Once it disappeared completely, Kyoko fell forward and returned to her normal clothes. She fell to her knees and starting breathing heavily. Joker stood up and walked over, helping her to her feet.

"Are you alright?" He let go of her and she brushed herself off.

"Yes, I think I am thank you." she looked at her body and felt her clothes. "What was that?" Without warning, the clothes shifted back and she gasped, touching her face as the mask came over it.

"I think this is your persona. It's what gives you power here." He looked at her more closely and she stepped back.

"What is it?"

"That mask...can you even see through it?" He waved his hand in front of her face and she slapped it away.

"Perfectly," She moved across the room and examined where the monster had died. She looked at her own hands and then back at the dark spot on the floor. "So these must be what protects this place. Interesting," She looked back at Joker and crossed her arms, "We should be careful to avoid these things from her on out. Even with both of us working together, we can't take the risk." Joker nodded, and moved to walk back out into the hallway. "Wait…" Joker turned around as Kyoko grabbed his collar. She pulled him close and whispered angrily, "Tell anyone what happened her, and I won't save you next time got it?" The image of her covering herself flashed in his mind and he nodded quickly. "Good, let's get going," She calmly let go of him and walked out into the hallway. Joker straighten himself out sighing, and followed.

They walked out into the hallway together, continuing down the corridor in eerie silence. Kyoko finally broke the silence with a question

"This treasure that we have to steal...do you have any idea what it might be?" Joker shrugged and she sighed.

"Something that's personal to her I guess…" She stopped and looked at Joker crossing her arms.

"For someone who seemed like an expert out there, you don't know much do you? Why do you know about any of th-" Joker shushed her and she quieted down. Deeper in the hallway, they could hear a low moaning, like an animal in pain. Joker looked at her and nodded before moving forward closer to the sound. She followed behind him, her hand hovering over her mask. They reached a room with the word "Manager's office" printed onto the door. Joker pressed his ear against the door, and the moaning grew louder. He turned to Kyoko and whispered,

"Ideas?" she nodded, and tilted her head to the side. Joker moved out of her way, and she creaked open the door slightly. The sounds stopped after that, but the sounds of struggling breathing replaced it. She fully opened the door an stepped inside, while Joker followed. They both gasped out loud when they saw the creature in front of them. It was a hideous beast covered in what looked like human faces. Most had large pink tongues hanging from crusty lips/ Others held tight grins, with eyes that were bloodshot and looked around widely. It simply laid on the floor of the cage, breathing heavily making the entire mass quiver. Joker covered his mouth as one of the mouths spoke.

"What a handsome man." Another spoke after

"Yes, and a pretty girl too,"

"I like them"

"They have potential"

"Yes...yes…" Joker looked over at Kyoko and then back at the creature. The mouths were all speaking over each other, complineting Joker and Kyoko in a sicking tone.

"What are you?" One of the mouths grinned and the others silenced. It spoke it a clear voice

"We are the ticket to fame. Nobody can do it without our help...even Sayaka," The mouths began to moan at the mention of her name, some licking their lips. The one who spoke to Joker laughed and continued. "She was delicious, but she thinks she no longer needs us. We will always be apart of her, and we can be a part of you too. Help us…" Joker shook his head and touched his mask. Arsene rose up behind him, and Joker could feel his power. He rose his hand, but was stopped by Kyoko.

"We don't have time for this...let's go," Joker sighed and felt Arsene return to his mask. They crept out of the room as the voices continued to speak.

"You'll regret this…"

"Come back"

"Free us…" They shut the door and Kyoko looked at Joker.

"She may have her own demons, but that doesn't make her justified in what she did to

Leon." Joker nodded, and rubbed his eyes through his mask. Nobody needed to have something like that...thing inside them. They continued walking, and finally reached a huge door labeled "Stage Entrance". They pushed inside, and were met by near complete darkness. "Watch yourself, I'm going to hold onto your shoulder," Kyoko placed her hand on Joker, and they walked slowly into the darkness. The sound of speech could be heard softly, like a crowd speaking in a low voice. In front of them, there was a small light illuminating part of the stage. In the light sat a microphone, made entirely out of gold. It shined brightly against the complete darkness, and when they finally reached it Joker picked it up.

"This looks like a treasure to me…" He looked it over when suddenly, a curtain was pulled away from in front of them. Light poured through as Joker covered his eyes. When he was able to look, he saw a huge crowd of people, who began to chant.

"Sayaka...Sayaka...Sayaka!" They grew louder and Joker looked over at Kyoko. Behind them, the sound of a metal door opening rang out, and they turned quickly. Behind them, hanging from the stage were other students, all hung by their necks with bags on their heads. They sat their dangling from their ropes as Sayaka lept up from a trap door that opened underneath the stage. She was dressed in her stage costume, a huge puffy dress that made her look her look cute and sexy at the same time. He had seen it before but never this close. She glared at Joker, still holding her mic.

"You two? I thought I told my security to get rid of you…" Joker looked at her in shock.

"Sayaka, what is all this? Those people are your friends!" She laughed and moved closer to Joker.

"Are you serious? Why would I need friends like that when I have millions to choose from! They are nothing back background noise, props to make my show even more spectacular." She snatched the microphone away from Joker and ran to the center stage. Kyoko looked at Joker and then touched her mask, letting out her Persona.

"Drop the mic Sayaka and confess to your crimes." Again she laughed, and dangled the mic in her fingers. "You want this so bad? Then come and take it…" She lifted it to her lips, and began to sing. The crowd began to scream out to her now as her voiced flooded through the entire palace. She suddenly began to change in front of them, increasing in size. "It took everything I had to get here! I won't let you take it away" She became covered in the same black substance the other creature had and changed into a giant monster. On the top half of her body she was still beautiful, topless with her hair covering her breast. On her bottom half, she had a long scaled tale like a fish, spiked with knives on the end. Joker touched the mask and felt his power return to him. He smiled and faced up at her.

"You had your chance...let's finish this!"


	6. Chapter 6

The voice of despair

Joker and Kyoko raised their arms in unison, as power coursed through them. The creature that Sayaka had become lifted her tail upward, and slammed it into the stage floor between them. They dodged quickly, Joker rolling away while keeping is eye on the monster. He lifted his hand and shot forward the dark power causing the creature to scream in agony. Meanwhile, Kyoko shot her bright light directly into creatures torso. It moaned in agony, and swung a giant hand at her. It struck, and knocked her to the side. Joker dived behind the cover of the curtain as the beast sang out in a beautiful voice. Joker's eyes widened as the wounds on her body seemed to seal up instantly. Joker snuck through the curtains, making his way over to Kyoko. The beast began to speak,

"You two are just as worthless as the rest of them! Stop hiding, and accept that I have no equal!" She continued to sing while the audience cheered her on. Joker eventually made his way to Kyoko and pulled behind the curtain. They stood up and tried to catch their breath.

"This isn't working…" Kyoko looked up at Joker, and he turned around to look at Arsene.

"You have any tricks I don't know about?" The phantom shook its head and laughed.

"Can't say I do. But she might…" He pointed his sharp finger outside the curtain and Joker followed his direction. He saw he was pointing toward the microphone she was holding.

"That's it…" Joker turned to Kyoko and spoke quickly. "You have to trust me here, shoot at her hand that has the treasure, alright?" He moved quickly out from behind the curtain and Sayaka faced him immediately.

"Finally ready to face the music?" Joker grinned and put his hand forward, launching the dark force at her face. She screamed in agony and Joker fired another blast

"Is that really the best you have? I think your disappointing your fans…" The beast faced him despite the damage and opened her mouth to begin her song. Before she could sing, Kyoko's light shot up, slicing the wrist that held the microphone clean off. The beast screamed and grabbed the stump as Joker ran to grab the microphone. He took it in his hand, and looked up at the creature. He rose his hand and shot forward, yelling to Kyoko, "C'mon, let's finish this!" Together they unleashed their power onto the monster as it screamed, crumbling into black matter. When it all faded, Sayaka sat there, he dress torn up her makeup a mess. She crawled up to Joker and grabbed onto his shirt.

"Please, I'll do anything. Please just don't kill me after I worked so hard!" Joker pushed her off and stepped back. Sayaka began to whimper and put her head into her knees. "Do you have any idea how hard it is living your life in the spotlight? What it takes to even get here?" Joker shook his head and placed his hands in his pocket.

"That's no excuse. You killed your friend, and were ready to let us all die in order to get what you wanted. You are not the victim here Sayaka," Joker raised his hand and felt the power course through him. "Swear to tell everyone what you did at the trial," She looked up at him and wiped her eyes.

"Fine...just please no more pain…" Her image began to fade until she was entirely gone. The only thing that was left were the tears she had left on the floor. Joker and Kyoko watched her disappear, and she finally spoke up.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Joker shrugged his shoulder and she sighed. Suddenly, the palace began to shake and the audience began to scream out. They ran away widely, trampling over each other as the stage began to collapse. Joker looked at Kyoko and then looked around. On the opposite side of the way they came lay a door that said "Exit" in bright neon green.

"There! Follow me!" They ran forward, dodging the falling debris as the world seemed to break around them. They finally reached the door, and Joker threw it open. They both dove in, and when the came out they were on the floor in the incinerator room. Joker got up, rubbing his head as Kyoko did the same. "We made it…" She nodded, and Joker's tablet beeped. The navigators voice spoke out loud

"Destination deleted. Thank you for your hard work," Joker rubbed his eyes, and looked over everything. It all seemed to be the same, his clothes and the incinerator room.

"Well done inmate," Justine had a small smile on her face as she looked up from her clipboard.

"Yeah...thanks,"

"Who are you talking to?" Joker looked over at Kyoko nervously and then back at Justine who looked up and shook her head.

"Um...It was ju-" Suddenly Monokuma burst into the room, waddling across the floor angirly.

"What are you two doing huh? The trial is supposed to start now! Don't make me drag you there!" Kyoko looked at him and sighed

"Our apologies, it appears we were caught up in the investigation." Monokuma began to giggle manically, and looked over at Joker directly.

"Oh yeah? Well you two shouldn't forget…" His eyes began to glow a bright red, "I have eyes everywhere. Let's go." He turned around and walked out of the room. Joker looked over at Kyoko and shrugged his shoulders. They both turned and walked out together, guided by the bear. Kyoko leaned in, and whispered to Joker

"We have to be more careful. We can't give him a reason to be angry at us, or suspect us in any way," Joker nodded and she moved back, continuing to follow finally reached a room with a large elevator. Everyone else was already on it, including Sayka. Joker looked right at her, and could see something different in her face. The beauty that was normally present seemed to replaced by a darkness. She was staring ahead as if she could see nothing else, biting her lip. Joker climbed into the elevator and sighed, looking at Kyoko. She was looking elsewhere, staring off into space. Joker felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned around to see Aoi standing there.

"Joker, where were you two? You had us worried…" She looked down and Joker rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry about disappearing like that. Me and Kyoko were...looking for clues." Aoi looked up, her eyes shining much more brightly. Suddenly, the elevator shifted, and began descending. It continued to go deeper for what felt like ages, with only sound be the metal grinding and the nervous breathing of the people within. Joker looked around the room at the students, his mind racing. He never thought any of them were even capable of killing before, but he had been proven wrong. How many of these people had palaces? Joker shook his head as the elevator came to a stop. When it opened, his eyes widened in surprise. There was a mock court room of circular design, with 16 sections. Each section had the name of one of the students, with the exception of Leon, Junko, and the Soldier girl. In their sections were stands, that had pictures of the students on top. X's had been drawn across their faces in what looked like paint. In a large throne sat Monokuma, who began to speak

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the first ever class trial! Everyone please take your seats so we can start the show." As Joker moved to the seat with his name, he noticed Kyoko whispering in Sayaka's ear. Sayaka kept nodding over and over, and was wiping her eyes.

"What's that all about…" He turned around and moved toward the section with his name. Monokuma waited for everyone else to take there spots, and spoke again

"Just to remind everyone, a class trial is an attempt to find out which one of your fellow students is the killer! Succeed in discovering the murder and I will punish them. Fail, and I will punish everyone besides them. Now that you all know the rules, good luck!" He giggled, and relaxed back in his chair. Soon after, Mondo raised his voice

"Look, just make it easier for the rest of us and show yourself here alright? Now we know this shit's for real there is no time to mess around,"

"Insolent fool," Byakuya voice rose up, "threatening them won't work. If they give up, their going to die. We need to figure this out now," Mondo gritted his teeth and yelled across the room to Byakuya

"Alright than tough guy, figure this one out then! Any ideas?" Byakuya smiled slyly

"A few actually. Let me explain…" He began to rattle off evidence, crossing off suspects cleanly. Joker began to tune him out, and looked over at Sayaka. Her head was down, and she was covering her mouth. "Which leads me to you, Joker…" Joker turned around in surprise and looked up at Byakuya.

"Me?"

"Don't play dumb. Out of all of us, you, Kyoko, and Sayaka are the only ones who didn't produce an alibi yet. They said they were in their rooms, which is faulty but acceptable for now. What about you?" Joker's mind began to race. An alibi? He didn't even need one, he knew who the murderer was! He looked over at Kyoko, who was glaring at him along with everyone else. "Well?" Joker opened his mouth to respond when suddenly Sayaka burst into tears. Everyone immediately looked towards her, and waited to see what caused it. She began to cry out, her voice raw with emotion

"Stop it already, please!" everyone stayed silent, and Byakuya let out an annoyed sigh

"Emotions can wait until after the trail! Right now, we just need to-" She shook her head, her nails gripping tightly onto her the banister in front of her.

"No! I can't play the victim anymore!" She looked down at the ground as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry everyone… I'm sorry for making you doubt each other." Byakuya's eyes widened as she continued to speak

"You can't be saying it was you?" She nodded and wiped her eyes.

"I asked to go into Leons room because I told him I was scared to be alone at night. I had seen him looking at me ever since we got here. I knew I could have him at any time, but at first I thought we would never have to. I grabbed the knife earlier, just in case he tried something. But when Monokuma showed us the video…" Her voice cracked and she wiped her eyes again, "I knew I had to get out of here. There were people waiting outside for me. I didn't hesitate, once he fell asleep, I stabbed him as fast as I could. He began to make a noise, and I was afraid someone would hear so I put a blanket over him and pushed the knife into his face…" Monokuma giggled, and began to laugh out loud

"Such delightful despair. A killer with a conscious? Who could have seen it coming!" Sayaka continued to cry as Monokuma spoke aloud. "Time to place your votes everyone Choose carefully now, there are lives on the line!" He resumed his giggling as a small tablet appeared in front of Joker. It had the names of each of the students in the class on it. He lifted his finger above Sayaka's and hesitated. He looked around the room at everyone else. He could see Byakuya slam down on the button and look away annoyed. The shy girl Chihiro looked like she was close to tears as she put her finger against the scree. Joker sighed, and clicked on her name. A little pixel version of Monokuma appeared on the screen, along with the words "Thanks for playing!" Joker leaned back and waited for the results to be read out loud, watching evyone else in the room. Finally, Monokuma began to speak

"The results are in, let's see which one of you will be chosen as the blackened." A large screen appeared at the top of the courtroom and it showed Sayaka's face. Under her sat three dots which did a small loading animation. Joker felt the sweat slide down his back as he waited in anticipation. Suddenly, the screen flashes green and the words "Correct" appeared. Joker took a sigh of relief as Sayaka resumed to cry. Monokuma continued "Looks like you were all correct this time. Well, now it's my favorite part of the game. Punishment time!" Sayaka nodded her head and spoke through her crying

"It's what I deserve, I only ask that you all forgive me…" From across the room, Aoi's voice spoke softly.

"It's okay Sayaka. We for-" Before she could finish, a claw appearing from what looked like nowhere grabbed Sayaka by her neck, and dragged her away. She screamed as it gripped her throat and everyone watched in horror. The TV that showed the results changed, and showed Sayaka being dropped on a stage in front of hundreds of monokuma robots. A microphone dropped in front of her, and she picked it up while tears ran down her face. In bright neon lights, the words "Sing" appeared. She began to try to sing aloud but her throat had been damaged by the claw, and everything that came out sounded hoarse. The crowd began to boo her, and one threw a rock. It hit her on the head, and she still tried to sing. The neon lights flicked quicker as the crowd got more annoyed, and more things were thrown at her. In a few moments she was covered in trash and blood. Finally, she gave out, breathing heavily as the crowd stared at her. The neon letters above her switched to a single star, which dropped right on her. The students back in the courtroom gasped as it hit her, crushing everything except her hand which still help the mic. It finished by showing Monokuma pick up the microphone and bow, while he curtains fell. The crowd cheered as the TV went black. Joker covered his mouth and held back the puke in his mouth. Monokuma laughed, and everyone turned to face him.

"Case dismissed."


	7. Intermission

"Yo, are you seeing this?" Makoto looked up at what the kid to see what he was talking about. On the way out of the subway, there was a large TV broadcasting the news. It was talking about Hope's Peak Academy. An newswoman was reading the story,

"Unrest today at Hope's Peak Academy as students seemed to be having a small riot. Eyewitness reports say that nobody has been injured yet, but so far we have no way of knowing why this riot began. There has been no word from any of the faculty in the building yet. For more coverage continue watching," Makato watched with a worried look in his eyes.

"Wow, that looks pretty bad. I hope the students are gonna be okay," The kid who was talking to him shook his head.

"Nah that's some serious stuff right there. Hell, it's probably way worse than whatever the damn news is showing us," He sighed and kicked some dirt off the ground. Makto made a fist, and turned directly to the other kid,

"Well we can't just sit here and do nothing! If nobody else is gonna do anything, we have to do it ourselves." The other kid looked at him and blinked a few times with a surprised expression on his face. Then he started to laugh,

"Whoa, I like your attitude man. What's your name?" Makato smiled back at him and responded,

"Makoto Naegi. You?"

"Ryuji Sakamoto. Let's get going alright? I don't think I can stand to be late again," He started walking away, and Makoto nodded, following after him. He took one last look at the news, which showed a bunch of people in uniform standing outside the fence, sighed and turned back around. "Hope's Peak...what happened there?"


	8. Chapter 8

Trust from Ashes

The room remained silent as they all stared at the screen. Joker felt his mind race, and his heart threatened to beat out of his chest.

"She's dead...and it's my fault…" He felt a hand touch his shoulder, and turned around to see Kyoko there. She looked at him in the eyes and shook her head, and Joker could feel himself calm down. He took a breath and looked around the room. Everyone else seemed to be in the same state he was, and Mondo finally rose his voice.

"Damn it! You sick fuck, what did you have to go and kill her for?" Monokuma giggled and shrugged his tiny shoulders.

"I have no idea what your talking about. I didn't kill her. You all did. You investigated, you debated, and you rated." Mondo's eyes widened in rage as he balled his hands into fists.

"You bastard...you'll pay for this. Right guys?" He looked around the room but nobody met his gaze. The anger began to leave his face, and his body loosened. "Cowards...all of you." Monokuma simply giggled, and then began to speak.

"My, my would you look at the time! I'm sure you are all tired, why don't you all get some rest? After All, she's not coming back. They'll plenty of time to cry your little hearts out in the morning. He broke out into a full laugh as he walked away, and seemed to disappear into a unknown part of the room. The crowd silently returned to the elevator, along with Joker. He stood by Kyoko, who looked to him briefly. He nodded to her, and when the door opened he made his way to the incinerator room. When he reached there, he was greeted by a stern voice,

"Why the long face inmate? Do you like being caged up that much?" Joker looked up at her surprised.

"Caroline? Where's Justine?" She sighed and rubbed her eyes as if he had been annoying her all day.

"We're on rotation inmate, but now isn't the time for questions. Master requests a word with you, so you better listen up!" She opened up the cell door, and gestures for Joker to enter. He walked closer to it, and Justine went behind him to push him in. He fell into the light of the cage and felt the world shifting around him. Before he knew it, he was in chains again, wearing the prisoner's uniform. He walked up to the cell and placed his hands on the bars.

"Congratulations on your first successful mission Prisoner. This is a monumental step in the completion of your rehabilitation."

"You are unworthy of such high praise inmate! You'd better be grateful!" Justine slapped the bars of the cage with her stick, and returned to her position. Joker took a quick look at the wardens, and then looked back at Igor.

"I got someone killed today." Igor shook his head

"My apologies, you are not in a celebratory mood. You must try me though when I say today's actions were vital in your progression. Creating a new bond, and securing a treasure are all necessary steps to create a future that is free of ruin."

"And what about the girl I killed,"

"I must confess to you inmate that people will encounter dangers if they are targeted by you. Whether or not you cause injury to them by your own hand is not of importance. You will alter the lives of those you come into contact with Prisoner, for better or for worse." Joker simply nodded, and backed away from the cage.

"I understand." Igor nodded in return, and began to bid farewell.

"I wish you luck on your future endeavors Prisoner. Remember, we are here to guide you on your path to success." Joker turned around and walked toward the rear wall of the cell. When he came closer to it, the wall seemed to fade away from view, and be replaced by the same glowing light from the cage. Joker moved into it, and again the walls shifted. He found himself in the incinerator room. He touched his clothes again to make sure that he was back in reality, looking down to see if he was still in chains. When he touched his pocket, he felt something inside it. He pulled it out, and his hand began to shake. It was a small hairpiece, shaped like a music note.

"Sayaka..." Justine came out of the cell door and shut it behind her. She looked up curiously at Joker, and at what he was holding.

"Not much of a treasure is it? Reality has a way of making things boring inmate, I'd suggest you get used to it." Joker looked over at her, holding the piece carefully in his hand.

"But in her world it was a beautiful microphone, why do I have this? She shrugged her shoulders and tilted her head to the side as she tried to explain

"Distorted desires manifest differently from places to reality. So in her palace, the source of her sin was her microphone, something she treasured beyond all else. In your world, it was that piece that represented all her desires." Joker returned the piece to his pocket and sighed out loud.

"I still don't think I get it. Thanks for the help anyway, goodnight." Justine seemed taken back by his kindness and stumbled to say something else.

"Er... your welcome inmate." Joker nodded and walked out of the room and down to corridor to his dorm. There was no Monokuma this time and everything was extremely quiet. He made his way into the room, and threw himself onto the bed. As soon as he hit the bed, he felt a wave of fatigue washing over him. So much had happened in one day, that his body hadn't realized how tired it was. When he finally had a chance to relax, he felt asleep come over him like a blanket. He awoke to the sound of knocking at his door. He got up and stretched as the knocking continued.

"One sec!" He finally made his way over and opened it to find Chihiro standing there.

"Oh, good morning" She blushed slightly and looked up at him, talking in her soft voice.

"Good morning, I hope I didn't wake you up." Joker shook his head and she smiled widely. "Oh that's good. I was wondering if you'd like to come with me to breakfast, I want to ask you about something." Joker nodded and she continued to smile brightly. "Thanks! I'll save us a table." She ran off before Joker could say another word. He rubbed the back of his head confused.

" _I haven't spoken a word to her since I've gotten here. Why now?"_ He shook his head, and headed back into his room. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, he made his way into the hallway.

"Joker! Over here!" He turned around and was greeted by Aoi and Sakura, walking together. He waited for them to walk over, and he joined them on their way to the cafeteria.

"How are you feeling Joker? I saw your face yesterday and…" Aoi shook her head and looked at the floor. "I'm sorry, I couldn't even talk after what happened. It was just so…" Joker shook his head and tapped her on the shoulder.

"It's alright, let's not talk about. We have to move forward and make sure it doesn't happen again." A small smile came onto her face

"Thanks Joker." Sakura nodded as well

"Well said. C'mon, let's get something to eat." Joker shook his head as the got closer to the cafeteria.

"Sorry I can't join you today. Chihiro came to me this morning and said she wanted to talk to me about something." They both seemed to understand, and when they got inside made their way to the usual spot. Joker looked around the room for Chihiro, but couldn't see her anywhere.

"Yo, over here." Joker followed the voice and saw Mondo sitting alone at a table. Joker hesitated for a moment, but he waved him over. Joker made his way to the table, and sat across from him.

"I was supposed to be meeting Chihiro here." He shook his head, and began to speak

"Nah, I just didn't think you would show if it was me who called you here.

"You like getting girls to do you dirty work for you huh?" Mondo slammed his fist onto the table and Joker jumped back surprised.

"Listen motherfucker, I came here to talk peace, but I can change my mind really quick if your gonna act like an asshole!" Joker nodded and relaxed a little bit. Mondo seemed to relax as well, and got more comfortable in his seat. "Look, me and you started things off a bit rocky but after seeing what happened to that girl yesterday...i don't know man…" He trailed off and sighed. He looked back up at Joker with intensity in his eyes, "Nobody else has to die alright? I know you tried to prevent it the first time, and I just helped to fuck it all up. I know you all blame me." Joker shook his head but Mondo waved him off. "Relax, I know it's true. All I'm asking here is that you make sure you ask me if you need help with anything, alright? You seem like a guy I can trust. Deal?" Joker nodded and Mondo smiled. "Nice, thanks man." Joker stood up and shook his hand. He made his way over to Sakura and Aoi, who both looked at him curiously.

"What was that all about? Did he say something mean to you?" Joker shook his head.

"I think he was trying to apologize about...everything. Maybe I was wrong about hi-" The doors to the cafeteria burst open, and Monokuma strolled inside.

"What a beautiful morning! You all should take a walk outside when you get a chance, it's so refreshing" He walked to the center of the cafeteria, with everybody's eyes on him. "Anyway, I feel that it is my duty as headmaster of all you students, to make sure that there is never a dull moment around here! Or knife for that matter puhuhuhuhu" He continued to giggle as he strolled around the room, handing out envelopes to each student in the room.

"I thought we could work on a little trust exercise in order to make sure we are all on the same level. Within each of these envelopes, is a secret that you've kept hidden from everyone in this room. Why don't you take a little look and see what I mean?" Joker looked over at Aoi and Sakura but they had already started opening theirs. Joker took a look at his and began to open it. Inside was a small piece of paper that said

"Joker is a convicted felon! He was arrested for assaulting a man in the middle of the night" Joker's hands shook as he read it and he quickly put the card in his pocket before anyone else could see. Monokuma laughed and resumed his speech.

"Well judging by the looks on the thoses faces, you seem to have understood what I mean. Now for the fun part...if nobody dies within the next two days, I'm going to go on the television and broadcast your secrets to the entire world!"

"What do you mean the whole world?" Byakuya stood up, the paper still held tightly in his hand. Monokuma giggled and covered his mouth.

"I'll explain that later, but understand that I am completely serious. Someone better kill, or your all gonna deal with some unbearable embarrassment. Best of luck!" He quickly made his way out of the room before anyone could react. Joker looked at his paper again, and then at everyone else in the room. Would someone really kill for a secret? Would he?


	9. Chapter 9

Exposure

Everyone looked around the room with mistrust clear in their eyes. The cards were held tightly within each of their hands, before Mondo slammed his down.

"Everytime I think we're done with his bullshit," Kyoko stood up and shook her head.

"Relax Mondo, this time is different." She held up the back of her card. "Now we all know what the motive is and that we all have a secret we want to protect. If a few people would reveal them now, it may be easier to find out who the killer is. If everybody saws it, then we won't have to worry." Chihiro came into the cafeteria and saw everybody standing around. She looked over at Mondo, who nodded, and she went over by him. Joker stood up and walked over to Kyoko.

"She's right. We can solve this on our own terms." Byakuya stood up and pointed at them

"Maybe you two are fine with this, but that doesn't mean we all have to be." Kyokyo glared at him and spoke directly.

"Your only gonna make this harder on yourself if that's what you really believe." She turned away and addressed everyone. "Tomorrow morning, anyone who wishes to reveal their secret themselves may come to the cafeteria and do so." She then quickly made her way out of the cafeteria, and Joker followed.

"Well that was...bold," She shrugged and they continued to walk down the hallway.

"These motives are the only thing keeping the game going. We have to undermine them, or else it will never stop." She stopped and sighed, looking downward. "It has to stop…" Joker put his hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him.

"Don't worry, we've got this," He did his best to do a convincing smile, and he could have sworn he smiled to before they continued down the hallway. "By the way, where are we going?" She pointed ahead and Joker looked over, surprised. There had been a large steel gate their before, but now it seemed to have been lifted. Behind it lay a staircase that seemed to let up to a second floor. "When did this happen?" Kyoko shook her head,

"I have no idea, but that doesn't matter. We should check it out quickly ourselves, and then tell the others about it."

"Why don't we just tell them all now?"

"We can't risk anyone we don't trust gaining access to any advantages that can be used to win the game." Joker nodded, and they both started up the stairs. There looked like there were several new rooms. Joker nodded to Kyoko, and they spread out. Joker went into a room with a large door, and other side was a room full of books.

"This must be the library.." It was huge, stuffed to the brim with books stacked up on huge shelfs. Joker examined them, and they ranged from textbooks to novels to books that were in languages Joker had never seen. Near the edge of the room sat a table with a lamp ,presumably for reading. In the back was a large door, which Joker opened up to see another room filled with boxes. "What is this?" He opened one of the boxes and peered inside. It was filled with files, and he took one out to the library. He sat at the table with the lamp and opened the file. He gagged at images that spilled out of the opened files. They depicted people only named as "Criminals" split up into pieces. Their bodies had been mutilated horrendously, with blade marks covering seemingly every inch of their bodies. Joker took a deep breath to regain his composure, and looked deeper into the file. He found something that looked like it was a sketch of who the killer was supposed to be. It was someone of unknown gender, wearing a mask and weilding a sword. Everything else in the file was in english, but there was one word that Joker could recognize. It said "Justice" in block letters. Joker froze and felt his chest tighten. "Justice? Why…" He took the file and dumped it out. He took each image and paper, shoving them into his pockets quickly while looking around. He them took the file itself, and hid it one of the the textbooks.

" _Monokuma is trying to trick them into thinking I'm a killer? I'll be able to put this back after tomorrow when we reveal our secrets but until then…"_ Joker heard the door open behind him and he jumped.

"Relax, it's only me," He turned around and saw Kyoko standing there with her arms crossed. She walked inside and looked around. "Find anything of interest?" Joker nodded and pointed over at the room that contained the files.

"I think that's some kind of archive. It has police files and government stuff inside I think," Kyoko raised her eyebrow and walked over to the room. Joker looked at the book he had hid the file in, and walked with her. Once they were inside, Kyoko immediately began to investigate the files. "What about you? Find anything?"

"There's a swimming pool, but that's a about it. You can go check it out if you want, I'm going to stay here and look these over." Joker nodded and began to leave but stopped.

"Do you think it's safe to let the others up here now? I'm sure Toko would like this library, and Aoi will be in love with the pool."

"Sure, do that," Kyoko was completely invested in the file she was reading,and Joker shrugged. He made his way back downstairs, and was greeted by Hifumi.

"Joker! Where did you just come from?" Joker pointed at the stairs and responded.

"The second floor, I think Monokuma must have opened it last night after the court case." Hifumi looked around and then leaned in to talk to Joker.

"Hey do you know anywhere private we can talk? I have something I have to tell you," Joker laughed nervously and took a step back. It was weird to see him so serious, since everytime Joker saw him he was either drawing with a creepy smile or talking to Celeste.

"Um...sure. You want to talk in my room?" He nodded quickly, adjusting the glasses on his face.

"Brilliant idea! Let's move quickly," Hifumi started walking before Joker could even respond. He reached into his pocket and felt the paper inside. He sighed and walked with Hifumi over to his room. Hifumi kept looking around nervously, and Joker could seemed beads of sweat rolling down his neck. They entered his room, and Hifumi looked at Joker with a serious look in his eyes. Joker never really noticed how big he was until they were both standing in such a small room.

"If this guy tried to kill me...I don't think I could stop him…" Jokers heart began to beat faster as Hifumi cleared his throat.

"Joker...this is hard for me but I need to do this." He took of his glasses and stepped toward him as Joker tried to back away.

"Um...what is it?"

"I'm...a virgin." Suddenly he let out a loud sigh and wiped the sweat of his face. "Wow...glad I got that out of the way," Joker stood there stunned, everything in his body still tense. _Did I hear that right?_

"Um...alright Hifumi. Why did you just tell me that?" Hifumi began to laugh loudly, and spoke.

"Right, I didn't mention that other part. Sorry I'm just so nervous. That's my secret, the one Monokuma put on the card." He rubbed the back of his head and looked at the ground. "I don't think I'll be able to tell everyone tomorrow myself, but now that I told you, can you vouch for me? Just in case someone is killed, I really don't want to be a suspect." Joker felt his body relax and he laughed nervously

"Yeah it's no problem," Hifumi smiled brightly

"You have a heart of gold Joker. I'll find a way to repay you someday"

"Oh that's alright…" Joker looked around and then back at Hifumi who was still smiling and starting at Joker. "If we're done here, I gotta go talk to Aoi about upstairs. There's a pool and a library of your interested." Hifumi shook his head and opened the door

"Thanks for the offer, but I have some work to get back to. I'll see you later." Joker nodded his head as Hifumi left, heading down the hallway. Joker watched him walk away, and shook his head. He turned around to start walking down to the cafeteria when he saw Byakuya standing in front of Toko while she was in a corner. He was whispering to her, but Joker could tell by the look on his face that something had made him angry. He walked over there, and as he got closer the talking stopped.

"Everything okay over here?" Byakuya turned and looked at him with a disgusted look.

"Since when did I have to report to you? Why don't you go bother someone else okay? I don't have time for your foolishness." Joker stepped back, putting up his hands in defense.

"Damn alright, I was just checking on Toko." Byakuya scoffed and turned back around to face her.

"Everything is going fine, isn't that right?" She nodded quickly and looked at Joker with a glare.

"Listen to Master when he says something to you." Joker looked at her and Byakuya turned around quickly.

"I told you not to call me that ever again you idiot?" He rubbed his eyes from behind his glasses while Joker backed away. He turned around, and he could hear the whispering resume once he made it far enough away.

"What's gotten into everyone today." Joker made his way into the cafeteria, but it was empty except for Chihiro. He made his way to her table and sat across from her. She was typing away on a small computer, but shut it as soon as he arrived.

"Oh, hi Joker. Sorry about tricking you this morning. I just think that…" Joker waved his hand and sat across from her.

"Don't worry about it. No hard feeling between me and Mondo." She smiled brightly.

"That's good, I'm just trying to do what I can for everyone. Speaking of which, are you gonna talk about your secret tomorrow?" Joker laughed nervously and looked around.

"Yeah, I already took Kyoko's side. I can't back down now…" She smiled and looked to the side with a sad look in her eyes.

"I'll try to talk to, but I think I'm too shy to say it outloud. I'll probably just show everyone my card." She blushed slightly and Joker felt himself get a little nervous. _What could someone as innocent as this be hiding?_ He cleared his throat and started talking again,

"Have you seen Aoi by the way?" Chihiro shook her head and Joker sighed. "Well, the second floor his open. There's a pool and a library if you want to go ahead and check it out." She smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll probably go in a few minutes." Joker nodded and got up. Chihiro waved to him as Joker walked away, and he returned the gesture. Once he got outside the cafeteria, he could hear the sound of banging, like something was smacking against metal. Joker heard a girl scream, and he ran towards the noise. He continued to follow the sounds until he arrived at what must have been the exit to the school. There was a huge metal vault over the exit, with guns mounted on the ceiling. In the corner of the room was Aoi with her hands over her mouth and her eyes wide. At the door was Sakura, her hands bloody from punching the vault. Beside her was Monokuma, holding a huge assault rifle, pointing it directly at her head.

"I said there would be punishments if anyone broke my rules. Was the point I made before not clear on that?" He began to giggle as he clicked the safety of the rifle. "I think Junko and the other one got the point don't you? Maybe you need something with more of an impact," Joker ran towards the two of them, as Aoi screamed. Joker's eyes widened as he Monokuma put his paw on the trigger. His giggling continued as moved in between them.

"Stop!" The bear growled and Joker stood there blocking Sakura from the gun.

"You want to play the hero? Fine, I'm benevolent." His giggling continued. "I'll grant your dying wish," Joker shut his eyes as Monokuma took aim. "Nighty nighty justice."


	10. Chapter 10

A pact

"Hold on!" Monokuma lowered his rifle frustrated and turned around with his red eye glowing brightly.

"Who is it now? How many of you have a death wish?" Joker opened his eyes and turned to see Kyoko standing there, her face deadly calm. His heart still raced as she spoke to the murderous bear.

"Why are you killing Joker and Sakura?" Monokuma pointed the rifle to the bloody marks on the door.

"The orge was trying to escape, see what she did to my beautiful wall?" He then nodded to Joker, "And this was is trying to play the hero," He turned the gun around and pointed it at her.

"And what about you? Planning on joining him?" Even with the gun pointed at her she maintained her cool demnor.

"I don't think you're allowed to do that." Monokuma tilted his head and lowered the rifle.

"What are you getting at huh?" She walked toward Monokuma, continuing her argument.

"Nobody has broke any of your rules right? These two didn't hit you, and…" She removed a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped down the blood on the wall. "There was no permanent damage done to this wall. You have no grounds to punish these two." The bear growled and dropped his assault rifle, the metal clanking on the ground as Joker breathed a sigh of relief.

"Turning my own rules on me huh? Played that card a little earlier didn't you," He giggled and began to walk away. "Don't expect this to happen again, understand?" He left the room and Aoi ran up to Sakura, beating at her arm with tears coming down her face.

"Why would you do something that stupid? You idiot…" She leaned on her arm and cried while Sakura sat still, looking up at Joker.

"Thank you...both of you." Joker nodded, and moved away from her to give Aoi and Sakura some space. He made eye contact with Kyoko and she gave him a small nod of approval.

"I'm just glad you're alright." He looked around, at the room. He never even tried to look for the front door before, but it looks like the obvious solution wasn't helpful anyway. The vault blocking the way to outside was huge, and Sakura's brutal punches didn't even make a dent in the steel. Joker felt the wall and hear Sakura sighed. She spoke in a low voice,

"It's impossible to force our way through…" Aoi looked up, wiping her eyes from the tears.

"How did you find us?" Joker explained that he had heard the screaming, and ran. Kyoko said that she had pretty much done the same. The two of them nodded. Joker suddenly remembered why he was looking for her in the first place.

"By the way, the second floor is open. There doesn't look like there is a way out or anything, but there is a pool up there." Aoi's face brightened as she heard that, the color returning to her face.

"Really?" She shook Sakura's arm. "C'mon, let's take a look…" Sakura nodded and got to her feet. Kyoko cleared her throat, and pointed to her hands. Sakura shook her head/

"I'll be fine, I'll just wrap them in bandages before we get there," She nodded to Joker and Kyoko while walking out with Aoi. As soon as the left Joker took a deep breath and leaned against the wall.

"You want to tell me what the hell you were thinking?" He looked at Kyoko who glared at him with fire in her eyes. "You could have gotten yourself killed, and then what?" Joker looked at her confused.

"What do you mean 'then what'. They were in trouble," She sighed, rubbing her eyes.

"We'll be in a lot more trouble if you die. Have you already forgotten about the other worlds and the palaces? I can't do any of that alone. Just…" She looked down at the floor, and Joker could see sadness replace the anger in her eyes. "Please be careful, okay?" Joker got off the wall and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I promise." She let out a small smile, before moving away from Joker back the way they had come. Suddenly, a TV in the corner of the room flashed on showing Monokuma.

"Okay everyone, sweet dreams! Goodnight, sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite…" The TV flashed off as soon as it had come on. Kyoko turned to Joker and spoke,

"We should probably get some rest. Don't forget about the deal we all made for tomorrow, I'll need you there."

"No worries, you'll have my support." She nodded to him, and walked out of the room. Joker began to follow her when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Hey, Inmate!" He turned around and saw Justine there tapping her foot on the ground. He looked around quickly and whispered to her.

"Justine? Why are you here?" She slapped his arm with her stick, and pushed Joker back. He moved, rubbing his arm.

"Master would like a word with you, and you must obey! Come, we need to get you back into your cell." Joker made his way to the incinerator room with Justine at his back. The hallways were eerily quiet, the only sound being Joker's footsteps on the floor. They finally made their way to the incinerator room, and Joker stepped through the cell door. As always, he ended up in his prisoner garb trapped within a cell. He looked through the bars and saw Igor sitting their in his usual pose.

"Greeting Prisoner, I deeply apologize for disturbing your rehabilitation but some troubling circumstances have begun to emerge." Joker tilted his head while speaking to the long-nosed man.

"What are you talking about?" Igor began to explain.

"I understand that this may be a difficult concept to grasp, but all of this has its roots within science. While it may be too extraordinary to be understood by any man, you have the science of the human mind to thank for everything you experience in the cognitive worlds." Joker nodded along and tried to understand what he was saying. "Since this is the case, we have to rely on the human brain and heart in both equal measure if we wish to continue your rehabilitation. The one who has you trapped in the physical world has a strong understanding of the mind, and is using that knowledge to make your thievery much more difficult through no conscious effort of their own. To simplify all of this, just remember what I told you at the start. You can't do this alone, use your allies to ensure that ruin never reaches us." Joker straighten up and held the bars of the cell.

"I understand, and will do my best." Justine and Caroline looked at each other, before Justine let out a laugh.

"Maybe you're good for something Prisoner. Just make sure you treasure the words of our master!"

"One more thing, Prisoner. You are not alone in your rehabilitation. There are others who are trying their hardest to avoid such a fate. That is all I know, but perhaps more will become clear within the coming days. Farewell Prisoner." Joker nodded and backed away from the cell. He moved against the back wall, and it fell away to reveal the pulsating blue light. Joker walked inside, and in a few moments he had returned to the incinerator room. He looked around, and was about to leave when suddenly the door opened. Joker froze as he waited to see who was coming inside. Hifumi walked in, and let out a shout when he saw Joker in there.

"Joker! What are you doing in here?" Joker rubbed the back of his neck as Justine emerged from the cell in silence and watched Joker try to explain himself, letting a small smirk creep onto her face.

"Uh, I was looking for you. I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow before we get to sleep." Hifumi wiped some sweat from his head, and placed a trash bag on the floor.

"How did you know Monokuma made me in charge of taking out the garbage?"

"I asked him where you were and he said you would be in here," Joker felt sweat run down the back of his neck as he continued to lie. He waited for Hifumi to respond. He sighed, and walked over to the cage that seperated the room into two. He removed a key from his pocket and unlocked the gate.

"I guess that's alright. What did you want to talk about?" He turned around and looked at Joker closely with his eyes wide. "Your still gonna vouch for me right? You promised and everything," Joker nodded and Hifumi sighed with relief. Joker could feel his mind race as he thought of an excuse, and he glared at Justine as she let out a small giggle.

"I'll still do it for you, but I think it would be better if it came out of your own mouth. I mean, this is an exercise in trust and all, I really wouldn't want people to think I was making stuff up about you." Hifumi rubbed his chin while starting at Joker. He nodded with a sigh,

"True, that would be unfortunate…" He smiled and walked over to Joker. He put his hand

shoulder and spoke earnestly, "Thank you Joker, I think I will show up in person tomorrow. I'm glad that I have friends like you in this place, I wouldn't know what to do if I was alone." Joker let out a small laugh and brushed off Hifumi hands.

"It's no problem really. Well, I'm gonna head to bed now, I'll see you tomorrow I guess." Hifumi nodded as Joker backed away toward the door. He left while Hifumi continued to work, whistling the theme from some anime Joker swore he could recognize. He made his way back to his room, and laid in bed. He finally had time to think about what Igor had told him.

"How could Monokuma or whatever be able to control those palaces? And what about the other people who can access them? He's the one who gave me these powers, but someone else might be able to have them" Despite the thoughts flooding Joker's mind, he eventually managed to fall asleep. He woke up to a knock at his door, and he went to answer it. He opened it while yawning and Kyoko came into the room.

"Sorry for the early wake up call, but we have to make sure we get there before anyone else." Joker nodded rubbing his eyes, and Kyoko grabbed him and pushed out of the room. He followed her quick footsteps down the cafeteria. They got there when it was still empty, and Kyoko nodded. She sat at one of the center tables and Joker followed her. He finally looked at the clock, and he felt himself wake up completely.

"Kyoko, you know we're an hour early right?" She nodded, and leaned back in her chair.

"It's better that we're early than we're late, trust me." Joker sighed and stood up. He began to pace around while she took out a small notebook and started to take notes. Time passed and people started to show up in the room. When the hour came, Hifumi, Mondo, Aoi, Sakura, Joker, Kyoko, Chihiro, and Taka were there. Kyoko put her notebook away and Joker sat again beside her. She stood up and looked around the room.

"I'm glad you all decided to come. Now... who wants to begin?"


	11. Chapter 11

Shock and Awe

Even with Kyoko's encouragement, everyone still sat there in silence, refusing to make eye contact with each other. Joker stood up and removed the card from his pocket. He saw Kyoko's eyes widen slightly in surprise, but she sat down with a small smile on her face. Everyone's eyes were on Joker as he cleared his throat and looked out at the other students.

"I guess I'll start…" He took a deep breath and began to explain. "I was arrested and convicted of assault a few weeks before I enrolled in Hope's Peak Academy," There was no major reaction from the audience that Joker could notice but he felt an uneasiness in the air. "I would like to explain myself, if you are all willing to hear me out…" Joker looked down at the ground, feeling the shame of his brand gnawing at his body.

"Please do, you wouldn't do something without a good reason I trust," Joker looked up surprised at Kyoko and sighed in relief. He turned to address the crowd. "It was late at night and I had just been on my way home from school. I could hear down the street what sounded like a woman crying out. I tried to make my way to the sound, and when I got closer I could hear a man angrily whispering to her. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but it looked like he was trying to force her into his car. I moved closer to see what was happening, but after that I can't seem to remember much. The next thing I knew, the man was bleeding from his head and he said the police would come to take me away. When they came, the woman vouched for him saying I attacked him randomly, and the cops seemed to treat him like royalty. They took me away, and...well you know what happened next." Joker could feel the mood in the room change, from suspicion to anger. Mondo slammed his fist onto a table

"That shit ain't right bro. Rich motherfuckers think they could just walk all over us like its no big deal," Joker turned to see Sakura nod and agree with Mondo

"It's unfortunate the powerful think they can tread all over the weak. I hope someday you can right this wrong." Joker nodded to her, and sat back at the table embarrassed.

"Thank you everyone, for trusting in me." Kyoko rose up again, and spoke aloud.

"Now that Joker did us a favor in starting this off, would anyone else like to follow?" Hifumi stood and Kyoko sat back down. Joker could see beads of sweat down his face as he tried to speak.

"I just want to say that it was Joker that convinced me to come here at all. It wouldn't be fair for him to reveal his secret while I sit back like a coward," He cleared his throat and took of his glasses, cleaning them on his shirt. "I am still a virgin…" His face turned bright red as he avoided eye contact with everyone. Mondo was the first to speak again, letting out a loud laugh. Everyone turn to face him as he got up and made his way to Hifumi. The whole room stared dumbfounded as Mondo put his hand on Hifumi shoulder still laughing

"Oh man... join the club pal. You must be a pretty good guy if that's the worst thing Monokuma could dig up about you." He continued to laugh, and some other people in the room joined in. Joker could see Hifumi look much more calm as he and Mondo sat back down. Taka rose up next, and Joker was surprised to hear him speak with such conviction.

"Hello everyone, I know many of you may not know me quite as well since I've remained in relative silence since this all began. I feel as though I failed so far in my duties as the Ultimate Moral compass, and I feel like this would be the appropriate time to right that wrong." Even though he held a straight face Joker could see that saying all of this was hard for him. "You probably don't know this, but my grandfather was in politics. Since my family was often in the spotlight, we were all forced to hold some secrets very close. For me...my choices in who I love wasn't for the rest of the world to know." Joker could see the difficulty he was having in trying to find the words to explain what he was to everyone else. Kyoko stood up and spoke,

"Thank you, Taka. We appreciate your honest, and look forward to your guidance." Joker could have sworn he saw a smile appeared on Taka's face before it was replaced by the stoic expression.

"I will do my best for all of you! We will get out of here together!" They both sat back down, and Joker looked around the room. Sakura, Mondo, Chihiro, and Asahina were yet to go. Aoi stood up, and Joker could immediately see sadness in her face.

"I really don't know how Monokuma learned so much about us but I want this to come from me." She smiled sadly, looking down at the floor. "I have a little brother, and I love him more than anything else. But when he was first born, I hated him. He was so cute, and nobody cared about me for a while, no matter what my grades were or how fast I swam…" Her voice began to crack as tears fell down off her face. "So I thought that I wasn't wanted anymore. I knew where my Mom kept the sleeping medicine. So I took a few and went into the bathtub, and filled it up. I guess I eventually fell asleep, because I woke up in the hospital. The doctor's said that I could thank my brother for saving me, he was the one who found me in there and called for help." She wiped her eyes, and looked directly at ont of the camera's in the room. "If this is really getting shown to anyone else, I want them to know I love my family with every part of my body. I'm so sorry for being so selfish. I'm…" Sakura wrapped her arm around Ashina and she began to cry into her body while she held her. Everyone fell into silence while her words hung heavy in the air. Joker looked at the table in front of him with a frown on his face. Suddenly a soft voice broke the silence and Joker looked up.

"Um...would it be okay if I spoke now?" Chihiro looked over at Kyoko, who nodded at her. She stood up, her eyes still looking at the floor. "You were all so brave in saying your secrets out loud like this. I...want to be strong like that one day." She swayed back and forth while she spoke, and even though her hands were together Joker could see them shaking slightly. "Ever since I was little I've been weak. When I found out how to program, I loved it. But since it became my focus, I never really found the time to find the strength I've always wanted. I was afraid of what people would say they saw me so I began to dress and act like a girl." Her blushed in a deep red color as everyone watched her. Joker saw Hifumi mouth was gaping, and even Kyoko looked surprised. "What I'm trying to say is...I'm tired of pretending to be someone I'm not. I'm a boy, a weak one. But I want to change that." Mondo stood up and looked at him. He looked up and they made eye contact as Mondo smiled.

"Whatever you need man, we're behind you." Joker nodded and stood up with him.

"You don't need to hide anymore," Chihiro smiled and Joker could see a small tear fall from his eye.

"Thank you...all of you" He and Joker sat back down but Mondo remained on his feet. He rubbed the back of his head, still smiling but now much more forced.

"Man, that's a tough act to follow. But I swore I would help you all in anyway I could so…" He looked over at Joker and nodded. "You all know I'm the ultimate biker gang leader or whatever. The crazy diamonds have been my life ever since I was a kid, since my brother ran them. I spent my life living in his shadow, fighting to rise through ranks of one of the toughest gangs in the world. Hell, if he wasn't the one cheering me on I don't know if I could've done it. When it came time for him to retire, you get bet your ass tensions were high. Nobody wanted some little shit like me to take over just because I was the same blood from the last guy. So I did what any real biker would do. I raced him." He sighed and Joker could see a deep pain in his face as he continued to speak. "It was close, but man...I just couldn't let him beat me. Not this time. I drove out into traffic, it was fucking stupid. Even the best couldn't get through all those cars, and my bro knew that. I was struggling, and didn't even notice the car coming right at me. Before I could even think of what to do, my bro rammed me off the rode with his bike. I went flying off, but he…" He rubbed his eyes and looked away. "He went under the wheels. I ran over, and while he laid their covered in blood, he told me to keep running the gang, to never give that up. I never told my boys what happened that day but I've had to wear that guilt with me each day, each time I wear the colors of the Crazy Diamonds." Joker could see that Mondo might cry, but the man wiped his face quickly and moved out of the room. "I'm sorry I need some time…"

He opened the doors and left, with Chihiro running after him. Joker sighed as he left and Kyoko looked around the room.

"I think we're done for today. Sakura, would you mind telling us yours later? I think we need a break." Sakura nodded, and got out of her seat with Asahina. They left, and the rest followed leaving just Joker and Kyoko. He looked at her, and he could see something was troubling her.

"I know this was hard for everyone, but it was the right thing. Trust me." She looked up and smiled at him.

"A criminal huh? Your the most suspicious person here so far…" Joker laughed and he could see that the smile on her face became more genuine. "Do you think we could just sit here for a while? I really don't want to have to think about anything else." Joker nodded, and she returned the gesture. They sat there in silence for a while, Joker leaning back in his chair thinking about everything that had happened.

None of us can really hide what's in our hearts, huh? He took out his tablet and looked at the app he used to get into the palace. He smiled as he looked at it. Guess not. Especially when this thing exists. Suddenly the doors burst open. It was Sakura, and she had a red stain on the front of her shirt. Joker and Kyoko lept up onto their feet as she yelled from across the room.

"You two have to come now!" She left as quickly as she had come, and Joker moved with Kyoko to follow ran guided by Sakura over to the gymnasium. Once the door opened, Joker couldn't believe his eyes. Mondo, in a pool of blood beside Chihiro, with his face beaten beyond recognition.

"Oh God...No…"


	12. Chapter 12

Breath

Joker stood still, his body shaking uncontrollably as he stood above the bodies of his friends. Kyoko immediately moved, checking the pulse of Mondo. Joker moved toward Chihiro and felt her neck, gasping as he felt the soft beat of her pulse.

"He's breathing!" Kyoko moved Joker out of the way and felt for herself. She nodded, and turned to Sakura.

"Sakura, how many people know about this?" Sakura stood still breathing heavily, but when Kyoko spoke she seemed to regain her focus.

"You two are the first ones I've told why?" In the corner of the room, a TV switched on and the body discovery announcement began to play. Kyoko put her arms under Chihiro and gently lifted him into the air.

"Tell nobody about Chihiro okay? Me and Joker will save him, but we can't let the killer know that okay?" Sakura nodded, and began to respond

"But what can you two do? She can't have much time left," Kyoko shook her head and moved toward the gym door.

"You have to trust us. We'll do our best to return as quick as we can, but conduct the investigation as best you can just in case alright?" She opened the door with Chihiro held carefully in her arms, and made her way out. Joker nodded to Sakura, and followed Kyoko outside. Joker followed her to the incinerator room, and watched as Kyoko set her down carefully. She was clearly out of breath, and leaned against the wall as she tried to regain her composure. Joker began to question her,

"What the hell are we doing here? She needs medical treatment right now!" Kyoko shushes him and removed the tablet from her pocket.

"Remember in the metaverse my wounds healed quickly once I activated my persona? Maybe the same will work for her." Joker took out his own tablet and stared at the app. Can this really save him? He looked back up to Kyoko

"I guess it's worth a try...we still need to find a palace though."

"Hey inmate, I think I can help with that." Joker turned around quickly and saw Caroline standing there tapping her foot on the ground. Despite the sneer on her face, Joker could see a glimmer of concern in her eyes.

"You know something?" Joker noticed Kyoko staring at him out of the corner of his eye but continued to listen to Justine.

"Well, I was sitting here in front of the cell door when that fat dude came flying in here covered in blood. He got undressed over there…" She pointed with her stick over to the incinerator across the room, "And put on some new clothes that I guess he had hidden somewhere. After that, he ran out just as fast as he came in." Joker rubbed his eyes and looked at her

"You don't mean Hifumi, right?"

"Destination found." The navigator rang off in Joker's hand as he looked down at it. Kyoko tapped him on the shoulder and he turned to face her.

"Who are you talking to?" Joker looked back at Justine and she shook her head at him, putting her finger to her lips.

"I was just...talking to myself." Kyoko stared at him for a few more seconds and sighed.

"Well quit doing that, we need to work together. We need the rest of the key words, and we have no idea how much longer it will be before Monokuma comes hunting for us." Joker nodded to her and began to think.

"Well, we know it has to be the school as the actual destination."

"Location accepted." Joker continued to rack his brain for any other clues. The ultimate fan fic writer….what would he see this place as?

"Think about it...he killed Mondo, not Chihiro. Why choose to kill the stronger target, when he clearly could have overpowered the weaker one?" Kyoko spoke aloud, and Joker couldn't tell whether he was asking him or just speaking aloud. "He knew that we all disliked Mondo after what happened last time, maybe he thought this was doing us a favor somehow?"

"What, like he was a superhero saving us or something?"

"Phrase accepted." They both stared at the the navigator as it confirmed their theory. That left only a single keyword left.

"Okay, this is going well. One more to go…" Kyoko put her hand on her chin and Joker held his head. "What does every superhero have? Especially ones that are alone, like he was." Joker nodded along, following her train of thought.

"Some place where he could be himself, and reflect upon his view of justice." Kyoko suddenly stood up straight, and put the navigator close to her mouth.

"Hideout"

"Location accepted. Please stand by." Joker looked up at Kyoko but before he could say anything the world began to shift violently. Joker held his head as the walls of the school seemed to fade away, and fall into darkness. Suddenly, there was a bright white light all around them. Joker covered his eyes from the brightness as wind roared around him. He tried to look around, put it seemed everywhere he looked that there was only piercing white. He was in the middle of a snowstorm, in what looked like the arctic tundra.

"It's….cold...Dad I'm...cold…." Joker looked down to see Chihiro, still wounded and bloody, shivering in the snow. He reached down and lifted him up carefully, being sure not to touch his wounds. He suddenly felt a hand touch his shoulder, and he turned to see Kyoko in her persona disguise behind him. She yelled over the wind to him

"Walk forward! I see a building not too far ahead! I'll be right behind you!" Joker began to walk through the snow, making an effort to take each step carefully so he wouldn't fall and drop Chihiro. He shivered violently in Joker's arms as they walked forward, getting closer to the building that Kyoko had seen. Finally, Joker was able to see something through the snow. A large building, seemingly made from crystals, standing tall amidst the tundra. When the got close, it seemed to block the wind and the snow from hitting them. Joker leaned Chihiro against the building and leaned against it, trying to catch his breath. Kyoko began to feel around the crystal, looking for a way in.

"It's no use, this place is totally sealed." Joker spoke through labored breaths at her while he shook his head.

"No, no way we came all this way just to die here frozen inside of this freak's god damn palace!" He stood up and watched as Kyoko backed away a little in surprise. Joker sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I didn't mean to snap I just…" Kyoko shook her head and pointed behind him. Chihiro was moaning, and a light seemed to pour from his body, melting the snow around him. A voice suddenly began to emerge from above him, bellowing loudly against the wind.

"Is this how you wish to find strength? By allowing your allies to kill themselves attempting to save you? This won't do, strength come from creation, from crafting the will to survive based on one's own merit." Chihiro spoke to the voice, crying out despite his swollen face and broken features.

"Teach me then! Show me strength!" Another powerful voice spoke aloud, this time of a woman.

"Finally we may show you what it takes child. Come my love, let us forge a pact with this child and show him all of his potential!" Chihiro cried out in pain as blood poured into the snow. Joker couldn't see what was happening, and a bright flash followed the cries of pain. When Joker looked again, he could see Chihiro standing upright, seeming to glow with power. Behind him stood two figures, a man dressed like a king wielding a longsword, and a woman holding onto him with her hand outstretched.

"I accept your deal Arthur and Guinevere. Now, let me weild your sword my king!" Suddenly, a long sword crashed into the crystal in front of them, breaking the crystal that prevented them from entering. Kyoko and Joker looked at each other before seeing Chihiro collapse to the ground, the figures disappearing behind him. Joker quickly lifted him again, and carried him into the hole that the sword had created. They stood in what seemed like the entrance to a manor, and Joker put Chihiro down. He seemed to be passed out, and Joker turned to talk to Kyoko.

"Can someone have two personas?" Joker shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"I have no idea, but I think they're the same. He's led a double life ever since he was a kid, it would make sense if his heart wanted the grace of a queen and the strength of a king." Kyoko sighed and crossed her arms.

"For someone who doesn't know much about these places, or the powers we have, you looked like you were an expert the first time. What are you hiding?" Joker swallowed nervously, remembering what Justine had done earlier.

"I don't know what you mean…" She moved closer to Joker, standing inches away from his face.

"For this relationship to work, we need to tell eachother everything," Joker stepped back a little, putting his hands into his pockets.

"Relationship?" Joker saw her blush a little, and she broke eye contact with him.

"You know what I meant, the fact that we're…" She was cut off by Chihiro moaning, and Joker turned around to look at him. He was on his feet, and his wounds had healed completely. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he began to back up quickly.

"Who are you two? What is this place?" Joker looked at Kyoko and cleared his throat. She nodded and took off her mask, and Chihiro began to speak with even more alarm in his voice. "Kyoko? Joker? What happened, why are we here? Did we escape?" He looked around wildly and Kyoko shook her head. Joker turned to her and spoke,

"Can you explain things best you can to him? I'll look around and see if I can find anything that looks like the treasure," She nodded, and Joker walked away from then while Kyoko began to explain quietly. Everything appeared to be made from crystal but the building looked as though it were some sort of mansion, with grand furniture and artwork covering the walls. Joker looked more closely at one of the paintings, and saw that it was some sort of anime princess, but painted elegantly like it had been done during the renaissance.

"Enjoying our's master's work?" Joker turned around quickly and saw two men standing behind him made entirely of crystal. When they spoke, their voice seemed to echo out like they were in a tunnel.

"I think I could do better, if I'm being honest." The crystal began to glow bright red, and pointed what must been one of his arms at Joker.

"How dare you insult our leader. Prepare to die villain!" The crystal men exploded outward, and Joker covered his face to shield it from the blast. When he opened his eyes, he saw a new creature had taken their place. They both turned into what looked like warriors, but their bottoms were snakes. They held long spears in one hand, and shield in the other. Joker smiled and touched his mask, feeling Arsene rise up behind him. He raised his hand and the pour began to build at his fingertips.

"Let's get this over with"


	13. Chapter 13

Twisted Visions

Joker shot the dark force from his hand and saw it strike one of their shields. The creature winced back while the other launched their weapon at Joker. He sidestepped the attack, and saw the spear embed itself in the wall behind him.

"Oh come on, you can do better than that can't you?" The creature began to laugh and the smile on Joker's face faded away.

"Stupid human…" The creature threw its shield at him iwth surprising force, and when Joker ducked under it he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He rolled away and held his arm, looking down at it to see the damage. The other creature had thrown its spear at the same time, and the weapon pierced Joker completely. Joker broke the spear, and yanked it from his body with a groan of agony. When he looked up, one of the monsters grabbed his throat and brought his face close to theirs.

"You have insulted our leader, the supreme hero Hifumi. For that, you must be punished." The creature opened its mouth to reveal sharp fangs, and Joker struggled to break away. He felt the hot breath of the monster on his neck as it moved its mouth closer. Suddenly the creature jerked back, crying out in pain. It fell to the floor, releasing Joker. Joker hit the floor and immediately began gasping for air, holding his throat. He looked up and saw the back of the one who was holding him was smoking, while the other monster was looking around widly. Joker raised up his hand, and shot his dark energy into the nervous monster. It cried out, and began to disintegrate into black ooze. The one who had been holding him did the same, melting away into a puddle of black sludge that faded away almost immediately.

"Next time just wait for backup please," Joker looked up and saw Kyoko standing there with light energy still building at her fingertips. She lowered her arm, and her persona returned to her mask. Joker got back to his feet, wincing as he felt the wound in his arm.

"Where's Chihiro?"

"I told her to stay back just in case…" Suddenly he ran out and grabbed Joker's arm, making him moan in pain. He looked up at him and spoke,

"Oh, sorry about that, but I think I can help." Joker removed a part of his jacket and showed him the wound. Chihiro stepped back, and placed his hands together like he was praying. A bright light began to emit from his hands, and the woman persona that had appeared previously rose up from his mask. She put her hands in the air, and Joker felt a warm embrace enclose over his body. The wound on his arm sealed up completely, and Joker stood up gazing at the newly repaired injury.

"How did you just do that?" Chihiro blushed slightly and shook his head.

"I have no idea, it felt like someone was giving me instructions." Kyoko nodded and patted him on the shoulder.

"I think it's due to our personas. They don't control our actions directly, but they give us strong impulses we feel like we have to act upon. That would explain your healing, and Joker's acrobatics." Joker turned and saw the wall that he had been standing against. Both the shield and spear were stuck within. Chihiro nodded along

"Okay, I see what your saying." Joker looked back at him and raised his eyebrow as he noticed he was still in his school clothes.

"Hey, why doesn't he have a disguise?" Kyoko shrugged.

"Didn't you say we only had to hide since the palace owner thought we were threats? Well, Hifumi thinks he put Chihiro in a coma, so I doubt he's afraid of him." Joker nodded and Chihiro gasped lightly.

"Wow Kyoko, you know a lot about all this stuff." Kyoko shook her head and crossed her arms.

"Not really, everything so far has been guesswork. Unless something proves me wrong though, I think we should go with my theories." As she spoke, she shot a menacing look at Joker. He turned away and pretended to look down the hall. "Anyway, our next step is finding the treasure. Like I told you before Chihiro, we find that, we can make Hifumi confess to what he did at the class trial, just like what happened with Sayaka." Chihiro nodded quickly.

"Right! He needs to answer for his crimes." Joker smiled and patted him on the back.

"Glad to have you on our team Chihiro," He looked up at Joker and smiled sadly.

"Thanks..I'm sure Mondo would have loved to be here too. I think he would've been a big help…" They all grew silent after that, looking at the floor. Suddenly, a booming voice began to fill the palace.

"Oh boo hoo, how did a bunch of babies invade my secret fortress?" They all immediately tensed up, looking around. It was Hifumi, but his voice was different that it was in the real world. "I hope you plan to leave soon, I'd hate to have to interrupt my beautiful drawing to deal with a few insignificant bugs." Joker began to speak to him, shouting out into the hallway.

"We'll leave you alone if you just give us your treasure?" Kyoko shook her head at him and Joker shrugged. Hifumi thunderous voice rang out once again.

"You know of my treasure? Perhaps you are more dangerous than you seem. Fine, I'll deal with you myself. Guards, find these miserable thieves and report their position to me. I will handle this personally." Joker looked over at Kyoko and shrugged while she rolled her eyes. She spoke to Chihiro,

"Come on let's go," He nodded and followed her, and Joker did the same. They moved down the grand hallways and stopped at a turn. Joker looked at Kyoko curiously, and she made a movement with her head. Joker peeked around the corner, and saw five guards muttering to each other. He put his head against the wall and shut his eyes, attempting to listen to what they were saying.

"The master said to check everywhere, but shouldn't we just guard the personal chamber? I mean, that's what their looking for isn't it?" Joker opened his eyes, and saw one of the guards hit the other one over his head.

"How dare you disregard the words of our hero? Have you forgot everything he has done for us?" The guard who had been struck rubbed the back of his head while looking toward the floor.

"You're right, my apologies." The other guard nodded, and turned to the rest of the soldiers.

"Spread out and bring the thieves to master as quick as you can! Remember, they must be returned alive!" The guards nodded, and took off while the one who had been hit came in their direction. Joker looked at Kyoko and Chihiro before leaping forward touching his mask. The guard jumped back and fell to the floor, while Joker stood above him with Arsene standing behind him. Suddenly a red and black cane with a twisted design appeared in his hand, and Joker pointed it at the crystal guard.

"Let's make a deal," The crystal guard moved backward across the floor, sliding back down thanks to the icy design.

"What do you want from me thief? I have nothing for you…" Joker smiled and dark power rose from the tip of the cane.

"Yes, you do. Tell me where the personal chamber is, and I won't hurt you. It's a simple as that," The crystal guard nodded quickly, and got onto its knees.

"If you keep going down this hallway and turn left you'll get to huge door. Just open it up, and you'll be there." Joker lifted the cane up and it disappeared.

"Smart move," The crystal man rose to his feet and looked to Joker.

"So I can go now ri-" A bright white light shot forward into him and cut him off. Joker lept back and turned to see Kyoko with her hand out and her persona behind her. The creature faded away into the black goo.

"What the hell?" Kyoko lowered her arm and her persona faded away.

"You promised you wouldn't hurt him, so I did. It doesn't matter anyway, none of these things are real," Joker rubbed the back of his head and spoke

"Yeah I guess…" Kyoko flipped her hair back and walked off down the hallway. Joker looked toward Chihiro and shrugged. They followed her down the hallway, going off the instructions that the guard left. They reached the large door, and Joker helped Kyoko push it open. They walked in and saw that the room was huge, and littered cages held on pedestals. They moved closes, and Joker breathed a sigh of relief when he saw all the cages were empty. Kyoko was studying the paintings on the walls, and Joker came over to her. They were all the same, showing a cute anime princess doing various heroic actions with Hifumi by her side.

"This is all kind of...weird. But there isn't anything really bad in here." Kyoko pointhed ahead, and Joker looked to see a giant red curtain separating the room with the words "Private Collection" in gold lettering at the top.

"Well let's see if that's the case," They moved over to the curtain, and pulled it back. Joker sucked in air and pulled the curtain close as he saw what was behind. He turned to Chihiro and Kyoko.

"I think Chihiro should stay out here. He doesn't have to see this," Kyoko nodded and Chihiro opened his mouth to protest. Joker shook his head and continued, "Just trust me on this, alright? I'll get the treasure and be right back." Joker steadied himself and entered the curtains again. The room was much dimmer on this side, but the cages and artwork were still visible. In each one of the cages were on of the female students, gagged and blindfolded. Most barely had any clothes, with nothing but a few rags to cover them up. Joker crept forward, trying to avoid looking at the girls as he continued deeper into the room. The paintings on the walls now showed the girls dressed in the princess anime princess outfit, submitting themselves to Hifumi. Joker stopped and looked at one painting which was marked off with a large X. It showed Chihiro in the outfit looking shyly at Hitfumi while he carried her away like Superman. Under it, written in red pain were the words, "Failure. Model was impure," Joker made his way to the end of the hallway. There sat an artist desk covered in tools and writing utensils. Joker walked up to it, and saw that a paper was still on it. He looked closer and saw that it was a detailed comic of Hifumi standing over Mondo's corpse, with Chihiro's badly beaten body next to him. The title read "Victory of a True Hero". Joker sighed and grabbed the paper, ripping it to shreds. He began to look all around the desk, until he found a draw all the way at the bottom. When he opened it he saw a single picture frame with the words "My inspiration" engraved at the bottom. It was a grainy photo of the princess girl that were in all of the photos. Joker grabbed it and tucked it away into his jacket, turning around swiftly. Suddenly, he heard Kyoko's voice from the other side of the room.

"Joker come on, let's go." Joker's heart began to race as he saw the girls in the cages begin to squirm at the sound of her voice. Joker moved quickly back down the hallway as the girls began to scream through their gags. He burst through the curtain and saw Chihiro and Kyoko standing their covering their ears.

"What is that sound?" Chihiro looked at Joker and before he could answer the door burst open. Hifumi came rushing in dressed in a superhero costume. On his chest was a big red H, while the rest of the costume was blue. He turned to Joker and began to laugh out loud.

"Fools, did you really think you can slip by a man like me? How dare you come into my fortress and attempt to take away my most prized possession. I destroy villains like you each day, and you will be no different." Joker put his hands up and walked toward Hifumi.

"Just relax, let us go now and we'll leave you alone." Hifumi looked right past him, and saw Chihiro standing there glaring at him.

"How could you still be here hm? Was my justice not enough for you? Very well...you must all be destroyed! In the name of truth and justice, I will conquer despair!" Joker stared at him while he touched his mask to unleash Arsene. _Despair?_ Suddenly, Chihiro's clothes changed and he was dressed in the grey armor of a night. A mask came over his face that looked like half the helmet of a night. On his arm lay a crest that had a sword and staff, with the background half purple and half red. Hifumi smiled and his body began to shake, "Very well, if you have a chance to change, I think I should have the same!" He began to grow in size at an alarming rate, until his head nearly touched the ceiling. Behind him, a flat backdrop came up and he faded into it. It looked like he had become a character from a comic book, and when he spoke text bubbles appeared next to him. "Hifumi is here to save the day from evil!" Joker looked behind him and saw that Kyoko was already battle ready, and Chihiro had her knight persona out with his sword raised. Joker smiled and the cane from before appeared in his hands once again.

"You're gonna call me evil? You killed Mondo, beat Chihiro, and think of the girls in your life as nothing more than models for your sick fantasies! You need to be shown what justice really is!"


	14. Chapter 14

Retribution

The monster Hifumi roared out and reached his hand out from the page. He moved it into the corner of the room, and pulled back while the entire palace shook. The comic book page he was on turned and suddenly he was armed with a giant machine gun with the words "Justice" scribbled on the side. He began to fire it, the words "Bang bang" appearing next to the gun in a cartoon style as the bullets pierced through the page striking the ground around Joker. He quickly dove away from the hail of gunfire as Kyoko shot her beams of light forward. They hit the page that Hifumi and he cried out in could see scars burned onto his body from the light. He turned their attention to her, firing the gun in her direction. She moved quickly, running just ahead of the storm of bullets that was being unleashed. Suddenly, the words "Click click click" appeared on the page and Hifumi growled. He again reached for the corner of the page and turned it, this time with his chest puffed up. The wounds he had before seemed to have disappeared entirely. He began to blow into the room, and Joker saw the walls freeze as his breath touched it. He moved away, grabbing Chihiro by his hand and taking him behind the red curtain. Kyoko followed, and they could hear Hifumi laugh from the other side of the room.

"See? Only cowardly villains feel the desire to hide!" The girls in the cages had silenced their cries, and Joker looked to Kyoko. She spoke aloud, her persona returning to her mask

"We can't hurt him when he's like that. We need a new strategy." Joker shook his head trying to think and Chihiro spoke up.

"Um...I think I have an idea," They turned to him and listened closely, "He only gets his powers back if he can turn the page. If we find a way to hold the page down, then maybe we could have a chance to do some permanent damage." Joker nodded along with Kyoko, and she spoke back

"That could work, but what could we use to hold the page down?" Joker thought about it, and remembered what had happened when Chihiro first awakened to her persona. _There was a bright light and the two personas showed themselves. One was a queen and the other was…_ He turned to Chihiro and spoke excitedly,

"Your sword!" They both looked at him confused and he explained, "Your persona used that sword to cut the palace door open right? Well, if you shot it straight forward like an arrow…" Kyoko finished his thought

"It would stab the page and he wouldn't be able to flip it!" She looked at Chihiro, "Well, can you do it?" Chihiro nodded,

"I'll try my best…" He touched his mask, and the knightly persona arose, wielding a longsword. Chihiro spoke to it, "Arthur, throw your blade into the corner of the room, and hold it there!" The persona nodded, and Chihiro ran through the curtain again. Kyoko and Joker followed, watching as the blade sailed across the room and hit the corner of the page. Hifumi laughed aloud,

"You fools, you can't even attack correctly! I think it's time we end this story…" He reaches outside the page again and tried to flip it. His expression changed as the page refused to turn, and he spoke nervously "what…what is this?" Joker and Kyoko nodded to each other and looked at Hifumi.

"You're right, let's finish this," Joker summoned the cane again and brought it upward, shooting out a large beam of dark energy. Kyoko's beams of light soon followed, and Hifumi cried out as their powers stuck him. The page seemed to crumple, and suddenly Hifumi fell out. He collapsed on the floor, and got up shakily, limping over to the large sword. He grabbed it, and tried to pull it out but slipped onto the floor. Joker, Kyoko, and Chihiro made their way over to him as he continued to struggle. Joker brought the cane back, and hit Hifumi in the face with it. Blood poured from his mouth as he laid on the ground sobbing. Joker grabbed his shirt by the collar and lifted him up so that he was looking directly at him. "Enough of your games Hifumi. Let us go and confess to your sin, or we can sit here all day so I can show you my new favorite toy." He threw him back onto the ground and raised his cane again as Hifumi got onto his knees and began to plead with Joker.

"Fine, you win I'll do whatever you want just let me live," Kyoko stepped closer to him, and shook her head.

"Looks like you really changed your tune. Guess being a coward is alright when its your life in the balance huh?" Hifumi shook his head and got up, wiping some of the blood off of his face.

"All I wanted was to save you all from the despair…" Joker's eyes widened, and he poked Hifumi in the chest with his cane.

"Despair? What the hell does that mean?" Hifumi looked at Joker directly in his eyes as he spoke.

"I know you felt it too. Watching a friend die, having to doubt your allies, being forced to show everyone your dirty secrets. I couldn't let it continue, not anymore...the world can't take anymore?" Joker felt the cane disappear from his hands and he grabbed Hifumi by his collar.

"What are you talking about? Explain it!" Hifumi shook his head again, and Joker's hands passed right through him. He began to fade away again, looking down at the floor.

"Just take my treasure and go. Maybe paying for my sins is the only true way to find happiness…" Hifumi faded away and Joker sighed. He turned around and saw that both Chihiro and Kyoko were staring at him.

"What?" Kyoko shook her head.

"It's nothing. I've just never seen you act like that before…" Joker rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the floor.

"Sorry, I'm just worried is all. I still find it hard to believe Hifumi would be capable of doing this without someone's else…" Kyoko looked at him curiously

"What, do you think someone made him kill?" Joker shook his head and paced slightly.

"Not directly, but don't you find it a little hard to believe? And that word…" Chihiro looked at Joker and spoke softly.

"Despair…" Joker's eyes widened and pointed at him.

"Exactly! Doesn't that remind you of something?" They all stood around there, and Joker felt like his mind was going to explode. _It's right there, so close...why does despair sound so familiar? Why does it sound so dangerous?_ Joker shook his head and the palace began to shake violently. Kyoko yelled over the shattering crystal,

"We have to go, now! We can discuss this later!" They tore through the paper that Hifumi had used and ran back down the hallway. All around them the crystal walls shook and cracked, threatening to collapse at any moment. The paintings on the wall began to ooze away like there was a fire, the paint becoming a deep black stain on the floor. They ran all the way back to the entrance where they had first come in, and out the door. The storm still blew powerfully outside and they ran into the snow. Joker began to feel the world shift violently and the cold snow melted away around him. Grey walls began to surround him and when his vision steadied he was in the incinerator room. He looked around and saw Kyoko and Chihiro on their feet, both moaning while holding their heads. Joker cracked his neck and rubbed his eyes while speaking to them,

"Everyone alright?" They both nodded, and joker looked around the room. It was empty except for Justine in the corner, smiling slyly.

"Another successful mission prisoner? Master will be pleased." Joker nodded, and she continued to speak, the smile disappearing from her face. "I would move if I were you, I think they're planning on starting that trial soon." Joker cleared his throat, getting the attention of Kyoko and Chihiro.

"We should probably get moving, we can't let Monokuma get suspicious." Kyoko nodded and quickly moved toward the exit while Chihiro remained standing there. Joker faced him, "What's wrong?" Chihiro shook her his head,

"How do we know it worked?" Joker walked over to her and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small disc, with the words "Best episode ever!" written sloppily with marker on a piece of tape. He took the disc and examined it, "What is this?" Joker stood away from him and put his hands in his pocket.

"That's Hifumi treasure here, in the real world. We did it Chihiro, now it's just time to make him reveal what he has done." He put his hand on his shoulder, and Chihiro smiled back at him.

"Yeah...thanks Joker," Joker smiled back and turned to Kyoko.

"Let's go," Kyoko nodded and they all left the incinerator room. Outside the hallway was quiet, except for Yasuhiro walking down the halls. Once he saw them all, he ran to catch up to them and Joker stood there facing him.

"Yo, where were you guys? Man, we were worried about you!" Joker laughed a little and shook his head. "Sakura told us about the murder, so me and Kyoko went to investigate. We needed a little help, so we brought Chihiro along with us." Yasuhiro nodded, and spoke back once he caught his breath.

"Oh alright, well that's some good stuff. Hey next time you need some help, just ask me. As long as it doesn't require too much thinking...or work." Joker nodded and Kyoko stepped up.

"We'll keep you in mind. By the way, have you seen Hifumi anywhere? I need to ask him something about the incinerator." He rubbed rubbed chin and suddenly snapped his fingers like he had an epiphany.

"Yeah, he was following around those weirdos Byakuya and Toko. Those two really creep me out...anyway they were in the library last time I saw them," Kyoko nodded and walked off toward the door, and Yasuhiro watched her walk away. He turned back to Joker and spoke,

"She's all business huh? Well, I'm gonna go join the rest of the group, you should come with and explain to everyone what you guys figured out." Joker nodded and began to walk with him.

"Good idea, come on Chihiro!" The three of them walked to the gymnasium and Chihiro froze when he got there. Joker turned to him, and shook his head. Chihiro nodded, and sat down beside the door while Joker and Yasuhiro walked inside. Asahina, Sakura, Celeste, and Taka were in there. Sakura waved over Joker, and walked into the corner of the room by herself. Joker followed her, and when he reached there spoke in a low whisper. "Chihiro is okay, don't worry. I need a favor," Sakura eyes widened in surprise and she looked around.

"Where is he then?"

"I don't think he felt comfortable coming back in here after what happened…" Sakura nodded solemnly, and turned back to look at Joker with her arms crossed.

"What is it that you need?"

"I need all the details you have on the investigation so far. I can't let Monokuma know what we were doing, and I need to have a basic idea of what happened when I was away." Sakura nodded and told him all she knew and her suspicions as to who was the murderer. Joker nodded along, and when she finished she posed a question to him.

"What exactly were you doing?" Joker shook his head and looked around the room.

"I promise I'll tell you, but it has to be after the trial, okay?" She nodded, and just then Monokuma came bursting into the gym.

"Look at all you lazy kids! Don't you know the gym is where your supposed to stay fit and healthy?" He turned and looked at Mondo's bloody corpse. "Well, I guess it's not healthy for everyone puhuhuhu…" He giggled, and then began to laugh out loud while everyone watched him with serious looks on their faces. "Geez, tough crowd. Well, maybe you will all lighten up a bit at the class trial! Come on, we gotta get there! Can't keep those handsome viewers waiting!" He turned and winked at the camera before running back the way he came. Joker followed the group silently out of the room as they all made their way back to the elevator. Joker stepped inside, and waited for the rest to come in. He saw Hifumi come in with a sad look on his face. He looked like he was out of breath, and was sweating insanely. After him followed Byakuya who was grumbling to himself. Kyoko was the last one to come in, and she stood next to Joker as the elevator began to descend. She whispered into his ear,

"Same thing as last time alright? Hold out a while, and then accuse him." Joker nodded and the elevator came to a stop. Monokuma's giggling could be heard clearly as the doors began to open. Monokuma sat in the same spot he did last time, and spoke in a voice of despairful glee "It's time for the second class trial boys and girls! Please take your seat, the show is about to begin puhuhuhu…" Joker took a deep breath, and stepped outside the elevator, preparing himself for another deadly class trial.


	15. Chapter 15

Righteous Evidence

Joker took his same spot from last time, his hands shaking with nervous energy. Monokuma sat in his chair, waiting with surprising patience as everyone took their positions. The whole time, a sickening smile was plastered on the bears face, and his red eye pulsates softly. Joker looked around the room and saw the unease on everyone's face. He looked directly at Hifumi, who was still a nervous wreck. Joker tried to picture him killing Mondo and beating Chihiro within an inch of his life but he couldn't do it. How could Hifumi kill like that? What made him kill so violently? Was it really just a fear of more despair? Jokers thoughts were interrupted as Monokumas giggle resumed.

"Okay class, let's get started! I think you all already know the rules, so why don't we just get started!" Chihiro raised his hand first and spoke in his soft voice,

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to go near the grind scene…can someone explain what happened," Byakuya scoffed at him and spoke,

"You people and your bonds are exactly what make these trials so difficult. Do you know how difficult it is to conduct a legitimate investigation when I'm forced to deal with people like you?" Chihiro looked down and apologized under his breath while the rest of the room glared at Byakuya. He let out a sigh and continued to speak, "But I suppose it would be best if we were all on the same page. Very well, the victim as you all know was Mondo the ultimate Biker Gang Leader. He was killed by having his throat slit, and being left to bleed out. The position of his body has led me to believe he was allowed the killer to do so willingly," Celeste nodded, and elaborated on what he said

"Something else was extremely interesting in the Monokuma File. It appears that a second blood sample was found, but there appears to be no other victims and nobody here is exhibiting any clear wounds." She giggles and leaned in from her seat, "This is very interesting, no?" Kyoko shook her head,

"We can worry about the injured later, for now I'm more concerned about those of us who are alive. For now I'd like to ask if anybody knows what the murder weapon was," Yasuhiro rubbed his chin and responded,

"If I remember correctly, the file said the wound was extremely thin,but the wound itself was cut, like, badly" Kyoko raised her eyebrow

"What do you mean 'badly'?" Byakuya began to clarify

" What that inbred idiot was trying to say was that this wasn't a clean cut, so the weapon wasn't something as practical as a knife. It was more than likely something with a sharp point but without an edge, like a pen or safety scissors" Tokos voice suddenly rang out

"It wasn't scissors!" Everyone looked at her curiously, "It's just that um...well scissors wounds will always follow a certain pattern even when um…the scissors aren't that sharp," Byakuya fixed his glasses and cleared his throat,

"We need to have a talk about that," Her face lit up and her eyes rolled back in pleasure

"Master wants to speak with me," Joker cleared his throat and spoke

"All that aside, who would have access to a weapon like that?" Kyoko shook her head and responded.

"That's too hard to say right now. I think we should focus on something else. The motive," Asahina began to speak with passion in her voice

"Well that's easy, you helped narrow them down Kyoko. The only suspects are people who didn't want their secrets exposed," Kyoko shook her head

"Not necessarily. He could have been killed because of his secret," Asahina covered her mouth and gasped, and Joker did his best to look surprised as well. Where is she going with this? "Anyone who was there can probably recall that his secret was that he killed his brother in order to become the leader of his biker gang. Maybe someone her had an issue with that," Byakuya sighed and rubbed his eyes

"How could that be the case? None of us knew each other before this place, why would anyone care about the past?" Monokuma suddenly began to giggle loudly, and everyone turned his attention to him. "Did something I said amuse you?" Monokuma's giggle broke out into a full laugh, and he began to explain himself

"As a matter of fact, yes you did. I'm glad your heads are as empty as I had wanted."

"And what does that mean? Just spit it out bear, I don't have all day" Monokuma continued through his giggles

"Do you have any idea how many new people you meet in a year? How many new faces are saved in your brain, voices that become instantly linked to certain names? I'll give you a simple answer a lot. Who knows how many people you met in the year you lost?" The room fell into a deep silence before Monokuma spoke again, "That's right kiddies, if you thought gloves girl was the only one with amnesia well, you must have forgot how things work around here." He laughed loudly as everyone looked around the room with wide eyes and their breath held. Byakuya was the first to speak, his voice cracking uncharacteristicly

"Your lying… I remember being abducted as I tried to walked up to the school." Joke nodded and Ashina tried to back him up.

"Me and Joker came in here together. I remember falling down next to him, the world getting all fuzzy…" Monokuma laughed and shook his head.

"Are you absolutely sure? You didn't feel any attachment to these people? Why do you all trust each other so much? Joker shook his head,

"No, we trust each other because we have to. Its us against your, period." Kyoko nodded,

"That's right. Now let's get back to the case, we can worry about Monokumas words later,"

"There's no need for that," Joker looked to see Hifumi was speaking, his voice quivering. "You are all my friends and I can't let you doubt each other anymore. I know who killed Mondo…" Byakuya seemed taken back, and he spoke with a mix of anger and surprise.

"Well what are you waiting for then? Spit it out." Hifumi looked at the floor and spoke lowly

"It was me…" Everyone froze again, and Hifumi looked up with tears in his eyes, "H was dangerous! He killed someone before, and I couldn't know if he would again!"

"No...stop talking," Hifumi looked up and saw Chihiro glaring at him with his hands balled into fists. "Mondo would never kill someone. You didn't do anything to help us, you were going to let us die!" Tears ran down his face as he spoke and when he finished his words became sobs. Monokuma's laugh broke over the crying,

"When one truth comes out the others aren't far behind. I wish salmon were the same way, make my dinners a lot easier." He giggled as the voting panel came up in front of Joker. "Anyway, I think it's time we place the votes! Remember, if you're right, only the murderer will be punished. But vote incorrectly, and you'll all have to face the music!" Joker could feel his hands shake as he reached for the panel. He picked Hifumis picture on the board, and looked around the room at the rest of the students. Once the voting was done Monokuma began to speak again. "Alright boys and girls, let's see the results!" The TV lit up with the image of a slot machine, and Joker could see everyone staring at it intensely. When Hifumi's face came up on it, the words "Correct" flashed in bright gold letters above. "Well, aren't't all of you on a roll? Well, let's get down to business shall we?" Hifumi sighed and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. Chihiro looked up, ready to say something but Kyoko shook her head and he looked back down. Monokuma walked up to Hifumi giggling manically, "Let's give it everything we got!" There was a flash as a metal claw shot out from nowhere and dragged Hifumi away. Joker saw the fear in his eyes as the machine pulled him into some unknown area quickly. The TV changed, and showed Hifumi looking around a room nervously. Everything inside was dark, and the walls looked metallic like he was in a prison cell. Suddenly bright and happy music began to play but through a speaker that sounded distorted. A spotlight lit up in front of Hifumi, and in it was a chair with the doll. It looked like the anime girl he obsessed over so much, complete with the bright pink outfit and bow. It looked up at Hifumi, and it spoke with a voice that sounded like Monokuma trying to do a high pitch voice

"I will punish you, in the name of justice!" The arms of the doll began to move, and it aimed the bow right at Hifumi. "Feel the power of a true princess!" Without warning the arrows began flying out of the bow as if it were a machine gun. Joker looked away as he saw the arrows fill Hifumi, blood shooting out from his newly gained wounds. He could hear the doll began to short circuit, before it finally caught fire. The sound of an ambulance could be heard, and Joker turned to look at the screen again. A small toy car pulled up next to the doll, and Monokuma stepped out. He looked at the bleeding Hifumi, and then back at the doll. He shrugged, and picked up the doll moving it away with the car. The camera then focused on Hifuims body, and Joker could see his eyes still moving. He lifted up his hand and tried to speak, but only blood came out and his eyes finally shut. The TV turned off and Joker continued to stare. Joker felt his hands begin to shake as the image of his body refused to leave his mind.

What the hell is this? I need to get out of here, right now!


	16. Chapter 16

Intermission 2

Makoto sat on the edge of the roof and sighed as he looked over the city. It was a deadly quiet, and he could see smoke billowing in the distance. It had all happened so quickly, without even a hint of warning. Madness seemed to cover the whole world like a disease, and only a few were unaffected. Ann came and sat next to him, a small smile on her face,

"We're doing the best we can. You can't be so hard on yourself," Makato looked at her and forced a smile onto his face.

"I know...I just want to save as many as I can, you know?" She nodded and Makoto turned around as he heard footsteps behind him. It was Haru, and Makoto got up to greet her.

"I really can't thank you enough for letting all of us stay here. I really hate to ask you to just give us all this," She blushed and shook her head quickly, putting her hands up.

"Oh no, it's fine. I don't want to just do nothing, when I have so much I can give. My Dad was just gonna sell this place and run before he…" Makoto shook his head and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Was there something you needed to tell me?" She nodded quickly, and pointed back inside the apartment.

"Makoto talked with her sister I think. She wants to ask you about something," She walked back into the apartment, and Makoto followed her with Ann. They found Makoto on the phone with tears going down her face. She wiped her eyes and stood up straight as soon as she saw Makoto walked through the door.

"I spoke with my sister. She's managed to hold down a coffee shop called "LeBlanc" with the help of the owner, his daughter, a doctor, and an artist from a nearby school." Makoto nodded, and Ryugi came up and patted him on the back.

"So what's the plan leader? We gonna pull off a rescue mission? I'm all fired up!" Makoto laughed and nodded, turning to face everyone.

"I'm thankful that I managed to get you all here. Thanks to Haru we have the benefit of being safe, but not everyone has that chance. We need to give them that chance. I can't blame you if your don't want to join me, and I;m not gonna force you, but this would be easier with all of us. Well, are you with me?" Ryugi began to laugh and shook his head.

"Cmon bro! You never even had to ask," Ann nodded and put her hand on her hip.

"Yeah, we're with you!" Makoto nodded her head and patted his back

"Always," Makoto Naegi smiled and walked over to the door.

"Thank you. All of you. Now, let's get to work!"


	17. Chapter 17

Nightmare

Joker laid in his bed with his hand covering his eyes. His body still shook as the image of Hifumis corpse refused to leave his mind. Nobody spoke afterwards, everyone has made their way back to their own rooms in absolute silence. The message was clear, nothing could be said that could undo the what had happened. He felt his eyes begin to grow heavy as the weight of everything that had happened that day suddenly came over him. When he opened his eyes, a prison cell greeted him. He rose up onto his feet and looked around. The cell was different, the walls were shifting slowly and were oozing a dark purple substance. The chain that normally held his feet together was gone, and the cell door was opened.

"Caroline? Justine? Igor?" Joker's voice echoed off the walls, but nobody responded to him. When he made his way out of the cell, he could hear a giggle in the distance. It sounded familiar, like an excited girl. He made his way outside the cell, and moved to the desk where Igor normally was. The chair where he sat was empty, and when Joker went around to investigate he froze. Under the desk was Igor's body, but it looked like it was entirely hollow. His eyes were black, and there was a hole in his back that had nothing but darkness in it. The body suddenly began to jerk up and down erratically like something was struggling to escape it. Joker lept back as the corpse floated into the air high above the desk. It looked over at Joker, and began to laugh in a voice that was entirely new. It sank back down into the chair, and spoke to Joker.

"You think ruin will wait for you Prisoner? The last thing this world needs is an idiotic symbol of hope fighting against the powers that be. I think we should do the world a favor, and rid it of any symbols such as yourself. Isn't that right girls?" Suddenly Joker felt hands grab each of his arms and yank him against the wall. He looked down and saw the twins holding him, the faces expressionless. Igor snapped his fingers, and a guillotine appeared in front of him. He laughed slightly, as the girls pulled Joker toward the device. "This could get a bit gruesome…" They yanked Joker into the device and secured him under the large blade. Igor walked over to Joker, and got on his knees in front of him. Joker's eyes widened as Igor grabbed his own face, and ripped it off like it was a mask. Beneath it was plain blackness, except for a small light glowing red in the shape of a lighting bolt. The faceless creature spoke, this time in the voice of Monokuma.

"Don't you just love an execution?" Joker could hear the laughter as the blade dropped, the metal sound grating against his ears. He felt the intense pain of it hitting his neck before he woke up in his bed, covered in sweat. He sat up, breathing heavily as he tried to understand what happened. _It was just a dream...a horrible god damn dream._ Joker jumped as he heard a knock at his door. He moved over to it, and opened it slightly. On the other side was Kyoko, dressed in what looked like pajamas. She looked at Joker and tilted her head to the side.

"You alright? You look awful…" Joker opened the door fully and she walked inside.

"Just a nightmare. What about you?" She sat on his bed and flipped her hair back.

"Couldn't sleep, didn't really know what to do." She sighed and Joker sat next to her. She leaned her head against Joker's shoulder and he let out a small gasp in surprise. He cleared his throat and tried to relax his body.

"You can stay in here if you like. I really don't think I can sleep anyway." She nodded, and put her hand on Joker's leg. She began to rub up and down it slowly as Joker looked around the room nervously. "Um...are you sure you're okay?" She moved her hand to Joker's chest, and he could feel her breath softly on his neck.

"It feels good doesn't it?" Joker froze as he heard a familiar voice speak from the dark. His eyes moved to the corner of the room as he saw Leon leaning against the wall. His shirt was covered in blood, and his face was covered by the bloody sheet he had been wrapped in. "Not really my type, but hell I ain't gonna judge you. I know the feeling all to well bro," Joker tried to move his body away but he felt paralyzed. Another voice rang out from the other side of the room.

"I don't know, he doesn't look like the type of guy to take advantage. He's too nice for that." Joker's eyes moved to see Sayaka standing, her body beaten and bruised. She was looking at him with clear judgement in her eyes. "But then again, you weren't nice enough to let me live were you huh?" Kyoko's hands moved into Joker's shirt and she began to whisper into his ear.

"I need this. I need you…" Joker felt his body shake but still nothing moved. In front of him he could see Hifumi's form come out of the darkness.

"I'm usually more into the 2D stuff, but I'll take anything at this point. Don't forget that you owe me." He rubbed his hands together as Kyoko tilted Joker's head to face her. She shut her eyes, and moved closer to Joker. Joker felt his own eyes closing, and before he could feel her lips everything disappeared. He opened his eyes again to see Mondo standing in front of him, leaning against the wall with blood running down his throat.

"Listen man, we don't got much time. None of this bullshit is real, it's all some head games alright? You have to wake up, and face reality like a real man. You can do this, your smart and you got good friends on your side." He coughed and blood shot from his mouth.

"Fuck man, dying sucks. Just do what you can alright? There are people counting on you." He collapsed onto the floor, and Joker felt the paralysis leave his body. He stood up, his legs weak and shaky. He made his way over to the door and opened it up. On the other side, there was a swirling void of darkness. He took a deep breath, and stepped into the black vortex. When he reached the other side, he was in his own bed. He stood up, and looked around. Monokuma was standing by his bedside, giggling softly.

"Well, you're stronger than you look. You must have the spirit of the grizzly watching over you puhuhuhu…" Joker rubbed his eyes and looked at Monokuma more closely.

"Is this real?" Monokuma broke out into a laugh and began to waddle away.

"Oh, you're a real riot! Joker ain't a bad name for you! Its as real as my claws buddy, you don't have to worry about a thing." The bear reached up and opened the door to get outside the room. "Oh by the way, if you have anymore nightmares make sure you let me know. I'd love to help out. I'm a regular old carebare," He giggled as he shut the door behind him while Joker went into the bathroom. He turned on the shower and got undressed. He let the cold water run over his body as he tried to clear the thoughts from his mind. As he shut it off, he could hear knocking at the door. He wrapped a towel around his body and walked over to answer it. When he did,Chihiro was on the other side with a laptop in his hand.

"There's something you need to see."


	18. Chapter 18

Tension

Joker watched as Chihiro walked into his room quickly and place the computer on his bed. He shut the door behind him and walked over as Chihiro furiously typed on the keyboard.

"Is it alright if I put some clothes on first?" Chihiro stopped and looked up blushing.

"Oh, yeah of course. Sorry…" Joker waved his hand and grabbed some clothes from his dresser. He went into the bathroom to get dressed and came out rubbing the towel on his hair. He sat by Chihiro and looked at the computer,

"So what is it that you needed to show me?" Chihiro continued to talk as his fingers rattled away at the keys with precision.

"I've been trying to find out as much about this place as i can and I've found some interesting things. The entire system seems to be sealed off, but if i work together with my AI than we can breakthrough pretty quick…"

"Wait...AI? And are you sure it's okay to tell me any of this?" He nodded his head to the camera in his room and Chihiro shook his head.

"I have it set to loop the footage right now. Monokuma shouldn't notice. Oh, and you can meet AT right now" He typed on his keyboard for a few moments and suddenly a digital version of himself appeared on the screen as Joker started. It looked around the room before settling its eyes on Joker and smiling.

"Hi Joker!" Joker gave a small wave at the screen and looked at Chihiro. Chihiro began to explain

"AI is basically a computer program that emulates personalities and is constantly learning. It's probably one of the best things I've been able to create." Joker looked more closely at the screen.

"Wow, that's pretty amazing…" Both the AI Chihiro and the real one blushed as Joker laughed. "And pretty accurate. Didn't you also mention something about files?" Chihiro nodded and the AI began to speak

"I found them while you were all at the trial, since I figured Monokuma might not be paying attention then. All of it is encrypted, but I think I can figure it out within the next few days." Joker nodded and turned to Chihiro.

"Do me a favor and show this to Kyoko in the morning. She'll want to know all the details. For now, you two should get back to your room, since we can't let Monokuma get suspicious." Chihiro nodded and stood up, shutting her laptop. He moved toward the door, and waved to Joker. He waved back and laid on the bed just as a new voice rose up.

"Making new friends Prisoner?" Joker turned to see Justine in the doorway, walking in just as Chihiro closed the door. She looked around his room as she came closer to him. "This isn't much different from your cell now is it?" Joker shrugged and stood up.

"I prefer not to be in chains" She smiled and looked away from him,

"Well, we can't have everything now can we?"

"Was there something I could help you with?" She nodded, and turned around to walk toward the door.

"Master would like a word with you. Come, we can't leave him waiting…" Joker followed her out of the room and walked down the hallway beside her. She kept her eyes on her clipboard as she did so, shielding it from Joker's sight.

"Can I ask you a question?" They continued to walk as she responded to him,

"I suppose. What is it?"

"That clipboard you carry around. What's on it?" He opened the door to the incinerator room and she walked inside.

"None of your concern inmate. I will say that it helps in your rehabilitation, and that should be all you need to sate your curiosity."

"Right…" Joker stepped into the cell door, and like before the world shifted before his eyes. His clothes became the prisoners outfit, and chains came on his hands and feet. When his vision cleared, he was in the cell with Igor looking at him from across the room.

"Greeting Prisoner. I've summoned you today to congratulate you on your most recent accomplishment." Joker walked up to the cell door and placed his hands onto the bars and Igor continued.

"You are making wonderful progress towards completing your rehabilitation. I dare say that you may be prepared to prevent the oncoming ruin if you continue to work at such an admirable pace." Caroline slammed the bars of his cage as Joker jumped back.

"Such praise should be treasured inmate! The words of our master are not to be taken lightly." Joker returned his gaze to Igor and spoke,

"You mentioned before that other people have the same powers as me right? Have you learned anything else about them?" Igor shook his head as he spoke

"Not yet prisoner, for they have been operating completely separate from my...shall we say jurisdiction. You and your rehabilitation are my primary concern prisoner. Speaking of others, I see that you have gained another ally. I must say I'm surprised that you have met others who share your gift" Joker tilted his head to the side and Igor continued, "Not all have such a power, and even those that do typically don't possess it so strongly. Perhaps it may be connected to their 'ultimate talents' as you like to call them." Joker nodded, and stepped away from the cage. He could hear that behind him, the back wall of the cell had fallen away, replaced by a swirling void. Igor spoke again, "I bid you farewell prisoner, and wish you the best of luck in your progress. Justine will be helping you if you require such assistance." Joker turned and walked out into the void. The world shifted violently, and when it steadied Joker was in the incinerator room just as he had been before. He turned and saw Justine walk out behind him.

"I think I'm just going to wait in my room till morning. I'll see you later." Justine nodded, and turned her attention to her clipboard as Joker walked out into the hallway. He made his way back into his room, and sat on the edge of his bed. _Each time I speak to Igor, things seem to make less sense. Not everyone has a persona? And our talents are connected to all this somehow?_ He sighed and leaned back on his bed staring up at the ceiling. _All of this because I helped some woman crying on the road at night. Was it worth it?_ His eyes shut as the lingering thoughts of his past weighed heavily on his mind. He awoke to the sound of knocking at his door. He rubbed his eyes as he made his way to the door, and opened it to see Asahina standing there. She was dripping wet, and Joker could see a small puddle of water from around her feet. She smiled at him and spoke

"Hey, we haven't eaten together in a while, want to go get something? I just went for a swim and I'm starving..." Joker nodded and her smile widened. "Great! I'll meet you there, I have to get Sakura. She's upstairs training I think," She walked away as Joker watched her and then he returned to the inside of his room. _Maybe I should tell her about the palaces too? I think I can trust her…_ He sighed and walked into the bathroom. After splashing cold water on his face, he left for the cafeteria. Once inside, he looked around to see who was already in there. He felt a pang of guilt as he realized how few people seemed to still be left. Joker made his way to a table my himself. He could see at one table Taka was talking with Yasuhiro loudly, and both seemed to be enjoying themselves. Byakuya was whispering closely to Celeste, who was nodding as Toko looked from another table, a mix of sadness and jealousy plastered on her face. Joker smiled slightly when he saw everyone acting so normally. _It almost looks like a real school…_ Asahina broke his concentration as she sat down at the table with Sakura right behind her. Joker nodded to them both as they wished him good morning. Asahina began to speak in her usual excited tone,

"God I love the water! You too have to come with me one time, there are swimsuits up there and everything! Mine doesn't really fit but…" Joker pictured her in his mind and felt his heart beat faster. He cleared his throat and smiled,

"Sound like it would be fun, I haven't swam in a while." Sakura nodded, and responded

"I think I will enjoy it as well. Swimming is a great way to stay in good physical condition." Asahina laughed and elbowed Sakura,

"That's all you ever think about, isn't it?" Sakura let out a small smile as Joker laughed. The doors to the cafeteria suddenly slammed open, and Joker turned quickly. Chihiro and Kyoko were being pushed inside by Monokuma. Once they were in, Monokuma waddled inside and looked around.

"Good morning class! I wanted to say congratulations on another succesul class trial yesterday! I know you all had as much fun as I did puhuhuhu…" He walked around the room as he spoke, everyone keeping their eyes locked on him. "I think you all did so well, you deserve a reward! I've opened on the third floor for you all to explore to your heart's content! Make sure you look around carefully too! My kindness is limitless you know puhuhuhu…" Everyone stayed silent as he made his way out the door, giggling to himself. Once he left, Asahina sighed and put her head on the table.

"I was trying so hard to forget about yesterday. What happen to Hifumi was so…" Sakura shook her head and placed her hand on Ashahina's shoulder.

"It was either him or us. If you try to see it from any other way, it will be to much to bear," Joker nodded, and stood up.

"How about we explore that new area to take your mind off things? Who know, maybe there is even a way out of this place…" Asahina looked up at Joker and nodded, a small smile returning to her face. They all walked over to the door, leaving the cafeteria and making their way to the staircase. As they got closer, Asahina stopped and looked at Sakura.

"Hey Sakura, do you mind if I speak with just Joker for a minute?" Sakura nodded, and walked up some of the stairs.

"I'll be waiting for you on the third floor" Ashina nodded and waited for her to leave as Joker looked at her.

"I'm worried about Sakura. She's been acting so differently lately, I think something is wrong." Joker rubbed the back of his head and thought about it.

"Different how?" Asahina shook her head and sighed.

"I don't know really, it's like she's hurting somehow. I know it could be hard to see, but I think she's carrying a weight on her shoulders that she can't hold alone. If she tries to tell you anything, can you do me a favor and hear her out please?" Joker nodded,

"Of course" She smiled and hugged Joker tightly as Joker stood there shocked. He patted her back and someone behind him cleared their throat. He turned around and saw Kyoko standing there with her arms crossed looking at him. Joker felt his face get red as he rubbed the back of his head. She spoke,

"Were you going upstairs aswell?" Joker nodded his head and she walked past him up the stairs. Joker turned to Asahina as she stared at Kyoko.

"Is she okay? She seemed angry…" Joker shrugged and began walking up the steps. They met with Sakura who told them Kyoko already began to walk around.

"I think the best strategy would be to split up." Asahina and Joker nodded, and turned down the hallway. _Now...let's see what this floor as to offer._


	19. Chapter 19

Revolution

Joker split away from Asahina as he entered the first room he came across. When he walked inside he was greeted with a dimly lit room that held an array of different games. He walked around looking at everything more closely. There were decks of cards, board games, dart boards, and a large pool table. The door opened behind Joker and he turned to see Celeste and Yasuhiro enter the room behind him.

"Yo, this room is nice! I was just thinking there was no place to chill in here!" Yasuhiro moved around the room looking at each game closely with a wide smile on his face. Celeste covered her mouth and giggled lightly as she saw the cards.

"Hm… I do think this room will be quiet enjoyable. It's been a while since I was able to practice my game." Joker walked over to her as she picked up the cards.

"Yeah, I don't see any chips or anything to bet though." She shook her head and suddenly had a deeply serious look in her eyes.

"There are other things that you can wager Joker. Somethings waste more valuable than money." Joker took a step back laughing awkwardly.

"Right well… I think I'm gonna go have a look at what else is on this floor." He turned to leave and sighed with relief as the door shut behind him. What's her deal? He shrugged and began to walk down the hallway, stopping as he saw Byakuya come up the steps. He walked up to Joker and crossed his arms as he nodded his head to the room Joker had just come from. Joker shook his head as he spoke,

"Just a game room. Interested?" Byakuya scoffed and adjusted his glasses.

"Not in the slightest. Anything else?" Joker shook his head,

"I was about to look around at the other rooms. Want to come with me?" Jokers eyes widened slightly as Byakuya began to nod, and started to walk.

"For now, let's go" Joker followed him down the hallway as they reached another room, and Byakuya opened the door. Inside was what looked like an art room, with various paint supplies and drawing tools scattered around the room. Joker walked through, examining the mess. Hifumi would have loved all this… A wave of guilt washed over his body as the thought of the palace entered his mind. He could feel his stomach churning as he saw the images of the women being held in ropes and chains. He deserved what he got. He needed to be punished.

"Joker, we need to speak." Joker broke from his thoughts and turned to Byakuya who was looking outside the classroom. He turned to face Joker with a stern look on his face, but with something different in his eyes. "Under any other circumstance, the mere thought of speaking to someone of your status would make me physically ill. And normally I have seen no benefit to working in collaboration with anyone but I have decided it may be time to make certain changes, however temporary." Joker continued to look at Byakuya, trying his best to hide his confusion.

"Um...alright. What did you have in mind?" Byakuya shook his head and maintained his look.

"Understand that I'm placing this trust in you and you alone. I am merely suggesting that we work together if we must in order to ensure our continued survival." Joker nodded, and extended his hand toward Byakuya.

"It's a deal then." Byakuya looked at his hand seemingly in disgust, but accepted the gesture anyway. Before Joker could say anything else, a loud voice rang out from outside the room.

"Maaaassssster! Where did you run off to?" Joker looked toward the door as Byakuya sighed heavily.

"This girl…" Joker raised his eyebrow at Byakuya who pointed his finger at door on the other side of the room. "It may be best for you to hide for now. Its difficult to predict what she will do when she gets like this…" Joker walked quickly toward the door in the back and opened it up. It looked like a storage area, with even more art products inside. Joker turned around as the voice rang out again.

"You can hide all you want Master. I'll find you soon…" Byakuya began to shut the door on Joker.

"I'll let you know as soon as its safe to come out, alright?" The door shut behind him before he could respond. He sighed and looked around the room while he waited, looking at all the various supplies. Some of these look kinda dangerous. Maybe i should hide some of them…

"You must long to be imprisoned inmate…" Joker turned quickly and saw Justine sitting on a stool and gazing at her clipboard. "Each time I visit you, you are locked away in a new cell. A pity really…" He walked toward her and she looked up at him as he spoke,

"How did you get here?" She shrugged her shoulders and gestured around the room.

"We're not limited in our exploration of this place as you are. However, any place that you aren't holds little sigfigance to us." Joker sighed and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.

"So,what did you need?" Justine got off her seat, and walked around the room while looking at the clipboard.

"Master sent me here to fill you in on something. Your persona possess some power, however limited, in the physical world. This trait is almost entirely unique to you, and in all honesty we don't know why." Joker got off the wall and moved toward her.

"What do you mean power?" Justine stopped and stared at him with focus in her eyes.

"We have stressed the importance of bonds to you, as they assist in both easing the rehabilitation process and strengthening your persona. It seems that your persona has granted you some sort of...charismatic aura that has made this easier for you." Joker backed up as she continued to speak. "To put it as simply, people will find you easier to communicate with. They will find it easier to confide in you, or may feel a strong attraction, whatever the case may be. Master wanted me to tell you this because he wants to gauge your ability to use this power effectively. I expect you won't disappoint him." Joker nodded, his head racing with what she had told him. Is that even a possibility. I guess it would explain a lot though… Justine nodded back, and moved toward the door. Joker moved over to her

"Wait, one last thing." Justine turned to him, and he could see that her normally piercing stare had softened somewhat. "Thank you. You and Caroline are helping me more than I can describe." A smile crept onto her face, and she bowed gratefully in front of Joker.

"That is our duty Prisoner. There is no need for thanks. Please, continue your efforts and don't forget that we are here to help you in any way we can." Joker nodded, and there was a knock at the door. Joker opened it, allowing Justine to walk out while Byakuya stood there rubbing his head.

"That girl will be the death of me, I know it." Joker looked around the room, and saw that an even larger mess had been made. Red paint had been spilled on the floors, and a vicious looking scissor was lodged in the wall.

"Who was that? It didn't sound like any of the other girls…" Byakuya sighed and made his way to the exit.

"Toko, that psychotic harpy. She refuses to leave me alone despite my constant verbal abuse." Joker laughed nervously and walked with him to the door. Godamn that is really weird. Once they got into the hallway, Byakuya started walking toward the staircase.

"I'm going to go to my room, be sure to inform me if you find anything of interest."

"Yeah...no problem." Joker walked down the hallway, finally reaching a room with large windowless doors. He opened the door, and walked into the room which was filled with scientific equipment. In the middle of the room, a large machine hummed gently and seemed to be connected to the ceiling. As Joker moved closer to it, a loud crash rang out from behind it. He ran over to see Monokuma, covered in metal gears and bolts, lying on the floor. The bear looked up at him and spoke,

"What, you see your headmaster in trouble and you just stand there? Kids today have no respect…" He got up and brushed himself off, walking over to the large machine. "I bet you have no idea what this thing is. For all you know, it could be the world's largest popcorn machine, or maybe a home entertainment system." Joker shook his head and examined the machine more closely.

"No I wasn't really thinking that," Monokuma began to laugh as he smacked the machine with one of his paws.

"Maybe you're smarter than you look. It's actually an air purifier, keeping you kids safe from all the dangers of the outside world. See? I'm always looking out for you guys." Joker stared at the machine and spoke

"What do you mean dangers? The world outside was fine," Monokuma continued his low giggle when he spoke.

"Was fine. Things have changed since you've been locked in here. The world doesn't revolve around you."

"That didn't answer my question."

"Who knows what's out there? The Black Plague? Radical-6? My job is to keep your safe, and its your job to keep the world entertained." Joker got closer to him, his hands balling in fists.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Monokumas giggle broke into a laugh as he moved to the doorway.

"I think today's lesson is over. But if you do some more good work, I might be able to clear some things up for you." His eye began to glow red brightly "Secrets are what we are, right?" The door slammed behind him and Joker felt his body relax as a wave of fatigue came over him. He leaned against the wall holding his hand as he tried to make sense of anything that Monokuma has said. The world changed? And what about people watching us...maybe it has something to do with those cameras? Joker looked around the room and saw one of the cameras sitting on a tripod in the corner. He had seen so many in the building that he had stopped noticing them. He looked closely at it, and the door opened again. He looked up to see Kyoko walk in, and stop beside the machine.

"I thought you might be here." Joker moved toward her, and when he was close enough whispered

"You spoke with Chihiro?" Kyoko nodded and took out her notepad. She scribbled something quickly and showed it to Joker. It said "We'll talk about that later, too obvious here" Joker nodded and cleared his throat as Kyoko crumpled up the paper. "Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" Kyoko nodded and began to speak

"Monokuma will definitely release a new motive soon, and we need to be prepared for whatever it is. Just be ready to use your…" She made a move with her eyes to Jokers pocket where the tablet stayed, "whenever we need. We might be able to prevent some of these killings if we play our cards right." Joker nodded, and walked to the door.

"Speaking of cards, did you see the game room? Let's head there, i think some relaxation will do you some good."

"We can relax when we get out of this place…" Joker shook his head as he opened the door.

"We can't do anything right now and standing around here will just waste time." Kyoko sighed, but started to follow Joker out into the hallway. When they reached the game room, they found Celeste and Taka already in there. Taka was examining a magazine while Celeste shuffle a deck of cards expertly. Kyoko moved to sit by her while Joker walked over to Taka. As soon as he saw Joker coming he put down the magazine, and Joker saw on the cover was an attractive girl playing shogi.

"Interested in playing shogi?" Taka quickly shook his head and spoke in a rough voice

"I've never played games much. Too busy studying and running the clubs at school." Joker shook his head and motioned with his head over to Celeste who was talking with Kyoko.

"Why don't you play a quick game with us? I'm sure Celeste can teach you some card games." Taka looked at the floor nervously.

"Well I guess it'll be useful to learn…." Joker smiled and watched as Taka joined the rest of them. As he began to move the TV flashed on. They all turned to watch it, waiting to see Monokuma or hear his creepy giggle. Instead, words flashed on the screen. "Alibaba is watching"


	20. Chapter 20

Dark Gift

The words stayed on the screen for a few more moments before the screen shut off entirely.

"What was that…" Joker looked over at Kyoko, who was writing furiously in her notebook. Taka seemed to be shaken up, and awkward smile on his face as he laughed uneasily.

"Monokuma is just attempting to confuse us, right?" Celeste nodded, and covered her mouth as she giggled lightly.

"Yes, that sounds right. We must be cautious, and not let his foolish games get to us." Her face changed suddenly, and her eyes became much more dark and sober. "This is about our survival after all…" There was a knock at the door to the red room once she finished speaking, and everyone froze looking at the door. It opened slowly, and Chihiro stepped inside.

"Um...sorry to bother you. Joker and Kyoko, do you think you could come with me? I could use your help." Joker nodded and looked at Kyoko who was already getting up. Joker turned to Taka,

"We can play later, alright?" Taka nodded and gave Joker a small salute. Joker returned

the gesture and made his way out the door with Chihiro. He began to walk quickly, taking them into the room that held the large air purifier that Joker had seen before. He was shaking with excitement now, his small frame vibrating with nervous energy.

"You both saw the message right? Well that came from the outside!" Joker opened his

mouth to ask how he knew this but Kyoko best him to it.

"Are you sure? How do you know?" Chihiro continued to speak quickly with excitement

in her voice.

"Today I started getting messages on my laptop from someone called Alibaba telling me

that there are people looking for us, and that they will help. So, I said how do I know I can trust you and they flashed those words on the screen!" Kyoko sighed shaking her head Joker could see the energy leaving Chihiros face.

"That doesn't mean anything, Monokuma could easily flash a message on the screens

through the school. We have no idea if this person is real, or if its just another way for Monokuma to learn our secrets." Chihiro looked at the ground with a sad look in her eyes. Kyoko continued, "Maintain contact with them. If this really is from the outside than this could be our way out. But under no circumstances do you mention the palaces or the treasures, understand?" Chihiro nodded slowly and walked out of the room with his feet dragging behind him. Once he left, Joker turned to Kyoko.

"That was pretty harsh…" Kyoko sighed and crossed her arms.

"I know he's just desperate to get out of this place, but that doesn't mean we can get sloppy now…" She kept her eyes on the ground as she spoke, "There aren't many of us left, and we have to consider the possibility that Monokuma won't let us leave until there is just one person standing. We can't let it come to that." Joker looked her over and could see the pain in her face. Her eyes were dark, and simply stared at the ground while she stood there in silence.

"We're going to get out of here, I promise. And we'll make sure whoever is in charge of this pays for everything." The darkness seemed to leave her face as Joker spoke and a small smile came onto her face.

"You're not bad at this you know…" Joker tilted his head to the side as she looked up at him. "You're a good leader Joker. We're lucky to have you on our side." Joker laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm just the same as you. I want to get out of here, and I want to make sure we can get as many people as possible." The TV in the corner flashed on as Joker finished his thought, and they both looked to see what it was. This time, Monokuma was on the screen and he read aloud his nightly message. Once the screen shut of Kyoko let out a sigh and moved toward the door.

"I'll see you in the morning Joker." He have a wave as Kyoko left the room, and watched her walk out the door. Behind him, a voice spoke to out loud,

"Enjoying yourself I see…" Joker turned around and saw Justine behind him.

"I'm doing what I can… something wrong?" She shook her head and began her usual looks toward her clipboard.

"No, but i have some information for you that might be of interest?" Joker looked at her surprised.

"Really? What is it?" She moved to leave the room and Joker began to walk with her.

"After we last spoke I grew curious of the two that had locked you in that room. My curiously is usually not unfounded and this was no different."

"You mean Byakuya and Toko? Yeah they're a little weird but most of the people in this school are." She shook her head and tapped the clipboard.

"Byakuya had a palace, but when I investigated I found it in ruins." Joker stopped in the hallway and looked at her while she continued to walk.

"What? How is the possible?"

"From what I saw it appeared that it had destroyed itself. The darkness that plagued his heart has left him willingly." Joker tried to catch up to her as he attempted to make sense of what she was saying. _A palace destroyed by the owner? That doesn't even sound real…_ "As for the girl, she's almost as unique as you. Though she's quite different."

"How?"

"She carries a darkness with her that isn't entirely evil. Instead, she has created a persona that is so powerful that it dominates her physical form, manipulating her actions and laying dormant in her body." Joker looked at with her with an obvious expression of confusion on his face. Justine sighed and spoke in her formal way, "To put it bluntly, she is able to use her persona in this physical world with two penalties. She can't control what her Persona does once she unleashes it, and it is incapable of using its elemental powers. Instead she has physical and defensive capabilities far exceed that of a normal human." They stopped as they reached Joker's room and he looked around the halls. He hadn't even realized where they were headed while his mind raced with what she had told him.

"This is all...insane. I don't really understand any of it." Justine smiled and shook her head,

"You don't have to. Just keep it in mind, having a wild card on your side is quite useful you'll find." Joker nodded and opened the door to his room. He stepped inside and froze, staring directly in front of him. Monokuma sat on his bed, dangling his little legs off the side.

"Took you long enough! You shouldn't keep a woman waiting you know...or bears for that matter." Joker took a quick look at Justine who nodded. He shut the door behind him, and began to walk toward Monokuma.

"What do you want?" Monokuma lept of the bed and began to stroll around the room calmly.

"No need to be so hostile Joker, I'm just here to give you the heads up. Tomorrow, I plan to announce a brand new motive!" Joker looked at him closely, and watched him as he roamed the room.

"So? What does that have to do with me?" Monokuma began his usual giggle, and faced Joker directly.

"Well, it's got everything to do with you. Your about to be the star of your own show!" Suddenly Monokuma froze, and silence filled the room. Joker moved toward him slowly, _these things can blow up right? He wouldn't just try to kill me like that…_ Before he knew what was happening he heard the door open behind him and he turned around to see a figure running toward him in a bright yellow mask and black cloak. Joker moved to get away from them but he found himself getting pulled back by his pants leg. The monokuma had moved, and latched itself onto his leg. Joker struggled against the robotic bear before feeling a sharp pain in his neck. The world began to spin, and he fell to the floor as the room around him faded to black.

Joker awoke to complete darkness.

"Monokuma…?" He got up and felt around the room. Behind him he could feel a cold steel wall, and he kept his hand on it as he walked around the room. At each corner, he turned until he realized he must have been going in circles. The room was just a small square of hard steel, with no light and seemingly no exits. Suddenly a bright light flashed and Joker covered his eyes. When they adjusted, he looked up to see a TV screen that was attached to the ceiling. On it, Monokuma's face giggled at Joker, before he began to speak.

"Hate to break it to you Joker, but it looks like a cell could be in your future after all puhuhuhu…" Joker moved toward the TV screen, his head pounding from the drug he had been given.

"What is this place? Why am I here?" Monokuma shrugged and leaned back, his entire tiny body visible on the screen.

"I see everything Joker, being a robotic bear has its perks. And I have reason to believe that you are encouraging your fellow students to cheat at my trials! As the headmaster, it's my duty to ensure that I keep such wrongs at a minimum, or else your education would be worthless!"

"You think we're cheating?" Monokuma shook his head and moved closer to the screen, his red eye glowing bright.

"No. I know you're cheating. The problem is, I don't know how you're doing it. And that's where your motive comes in to play…" Joker held his head as Monokuma's voice rang across the walls. "Your friends will be given the opportunity to betray you. In exchange, they will receive the originally planned motive of ten million dollars, and you will be punished accordingly." Joker felt his body tighten as the last words left Monokuma's mouth. _Ten million dollars for my life…_ "But, if none of them come forward, or a killing happens before then, I'll set you free and it will be like none of this happen in the first place, but with one small tiny catch. We'll see what happens…" Joker shook his head, feeling weak. He fell to his knees staring at the screen.

"This is crazy…" Monokuma laughed and shook his head.

"Enjoy the alone time Joker. Next time we meet, you'll either be a free man….or a dead one." The TV shut back off and Joker found himself once again alone in the dark, steel room.


	21. Chapter 21

Fresh Eyes

Kyoko awoke to the sound of knocking at her door. She stood up and walked over to the door, opening it a creak. On the other side was Asahina with a worried look on her face, looking up and down the halls nervously. Kyoko sighed and opened the door fully as Ashaina stepped back,

"Can I help you?" She crossed her arms and Asahina began speaking quickly,

"Have you seen Joker? I was going to invite him to breakfast, but he didn't open his door. I tried to listen in and I couldn't hear a thing and I'm getting kind of worried…" Kyoko shook her head,

"I'm sure he's fine. He probably just overslept I'm sure he'll come soon. I'll let him know that you're looking for him." Asahina smiled a little and nodded.

"You're probably right, I'm getting worried over nothing." She took a deep breath and straightened herself out. "If you see him, can you tell him I'm in the cafeteria." Kyoko nodded and Ashina began to walk away. "Thanks, you're the best!" Kyoko shut the door as she walked away, and moving over to bed. She laid back on it, and took out the notepad from her pocket. Could something really have happened to him? Kyoko let out a sigh, getting back up and leaving her room. She walked down the hall to Joker's room, and knocked on the door.

"Joker? Its Kyoko, we need to talk." She waited for a moment and listened. Nothing, she. couldn't even hear a footstep on the other side of the door. She rose her hand to knock again, but before she could the sound of running filled the halls. Kyoko turned to see Chihiro running toward her clutching his laptop with a troubled look on his face. Once he caught up to Kyoko, he started breathing heavily as Kyoko crossed her arms. "What's wrong?" Chihiro looked up at her after he caught his breath.

"Someone...somebody is missing…" Kyoko raised her eyebrow curirosely

"How do you know?" He tapped his laptop quickly,

"Alibaba told me! They have access to some of the camera systems, and saw someone taken by Monokuma but they couldn't tell me who…" Kyoko sighed and looked at Joker's door. Why would Monokuma try to take you away?

"Joker hasn't been answering his door all morning…" Chihiro's eyes widened and he looked at Kyoko with a deeply frightened look on his face.

"You think he took Joker? Then if someone is killed, we won't be able to get into a palace and…" He gasped like he had realized something and moved closer to Kyoko to whisper. "What if Monokuma knows about the palaces?" Kyoko shook her head,

"Impossible. We haven't made a single mistake, and there is no way he could deduce it for himself." She sighed and rubbed her eyes, "For now, go to the cafeteria and ask around. Try not to make it too obvious okay? I don't want to start a panic." Chihiro nodded and ran off in the direction of the cafeteria as Kyoko watched her go. Kyoko reached into her pocket and pulled out a small lockpick. She had it ever since she came here, but didn't know why. She moved it around in her hand, and when she kneeled by the door. It felt perfectly natural, like she had done it a million times before. The door made a soft click and she turned the knob.

"Care to explain yourself?" Kyoko turned around quickly and found Byakuya there with his arms crossed glaring down at her. She stood up and brushed some dust off as he spoke. "As if you weren't suspicious enough already, you're gonna start breaking into people's rooms now?"

"I'm suspicious?" Byakuya took of his glasses and spoke smugly,

"A girl with absolutely no memory of her past in place that supposed to be filled with the best and the brightest the world has to offer? Consider it for a moment…" Byakuya peeked inside Joker's room and Kyoko stood in front of him. Byakuya scoffed, "Why don't we head in there together to check on him, hm? I'm sure he wouldn't mind the company…" Kyoko moved out of the way, and Byakuya strolled right in. She follow behind him, examining the room carefully. No signs of a struggled… did he go along willingly? Or maybe he was taken in his sleep? Byakuya was busy looking around for Joker, and walked up to Kyoko when he was finished. "Now would you like to explain why you just broke into the room of someone who wasn't even inside?" Before she could respond, another voice spoke out.

"What are you two doing in here? Don't you know breaking and entering is against the law?" They turned around and saw Monokuma standing there dressed in a mock police uniform. In one hand he carried a small magnifying glass, which he was holding up to his red eye. "You two are disrupting the scene of the crime!" Kyoko moved toward him, and he looked moved his magnifying glass to focus on her,

"What crime are you talking about?"

"Puhuhuhu...well of course it would be you interested in crimes. Recently, one of your fellow students was put behind bars, where he belongs."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Now Byakuya spoke, standing beside Kyoko. Monokuma began to giggle loudly, and shook his paw at Byakuya.

"This isn't an exclusive interview, the entire student body has to be informed as well. Why don't you meet me in the cafeteria?" He laughed and exited the room just as quickly as he came in.

"That stupid bear...do you have any idea what he was referring to?" Kyoko sighed and began to walk out the door, with Byakuya right behind her.

"Since when were you so concerned with what happened to the rest of us?" Byakuya shook his head,

"I would hardly call it being worried about you. I'm more concerned by the idea that Monokuma is going to start punishing people, regardless of whether or not they violated his rules."

"That would be troublesome... His mock laws are the only thing that's kept everything in order so far. If he begins to disregard them on a whim…"

"Madness will ensue." Kyoko flashed a look at Byakuya who was simply staring down the hallway as he walked. They continued down the hall in silence, before reaching the cafeteria. Once they walked in, Kyoko could see everyone in the room turn and look at them. Monokuma was in the center of the room, with a small TV set placed on one of the tables.

"Jeez, look at you two slowpokes. I hope you're not skipping your gym classes. Why don't you take a seat with your fellow classmates so the presentation may begin." Byakuya moved to a table with Celeste and Yasuhiro, while Kyoko sat beside Chihiro. He looked at Kyoko with a sad look on his face, and shook his head quickly. Guess he couldn't find anything about Joker. What did Monokuma do to him? "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to be completely honest with you. I hate when people lie. What's the point of making something up, when sooner or later I'll find the truth? Well, right now you can help me find out if one of your classmates isn't being totally honest." He switched on the TV, but the screen remained totally dark. Monokuma picked up a small remote that had been sitting next to the TV, and clicked a big button on it. Suddenly, there was a flash of light on the TV and when it faded the picture became clear. It was Joker, sitting the corner of a totally metal room with his hands on his head covering his eyes.

"No…" Asahina's voice was soft and she covered her mouth as her eyes grew wet.

"Now's the time to explain yourself Monokuma." Byakuya was staring daggers into the robot bear but Monokuma simply laughed him off.

"I'm giving you all an opportunity to better yourselves here. Anyone able to come forward about any details detailing Joker cheating at my killing game, and you will be rewarded with ten million dollars. That's right boys and girls, even in here cash is still king." Celeste stood up, her hands clasped together and her eyes deadly serious.

"And is that all there is not it? Information for money?" Monokuma shook his head.

"Not so fast Miss Fortune, I can't just let Joker here get away with his crimes. If someone comes forward with the evidence, I will be forced to punish Joker for his crimes accordingly. I think you're all smart enough to figure out what I mean…" He laughed as everyone watched each other in dead silence, their eyes darting from one person to the next doubting one another.

"But I have to admit that this is all based purely on my own paranoia. After all, what's a bear without his survival instincts? If nobody comes forward, or if something more interesting happens...I'll be forced to let Joker walk as a free man." Kyoko stared directly at Chihiro, and then turned her attention to the rest of the room. Which one of us is willing to be the traitor? Who needs the money, and who has the information? Monokuma shut if the television, and picked up carefully. The image of Joker alone in the dark was burned it Kyoko's mind. "Good luck everyone! If any of you want to come forward just give me a shout. I'm always listening…" As he spoke those last ominous words he left the cafeteria, and everyone remained quiet. Kyoko was the first to speak, standing up from her chair and moving into the center of the room.

"Monokuma has given us a new motive made for the specific purpose of doubting each other. The only way we can beat him here, is by working together or else we all lose."

"Wa-was it true?" Toko began to speak as she looked around the room nervously. "Is Joker really cheating somehow?"

"Can you prove that he was?" She shot a look at Toko who turned away and looked down at the floor.

"Well...no."

"We have to assume that Joker wasn't cheating in any way, and that the only reason someone would call Monokuma would be to lie to obtain the money. So, who in here would be enticed by that prize?" Byakuya was the first to respond, shaking his head quickly.

"My family runs a multi billion dollar company that I am the sole heir to. I have no need for any more wealth." Kyoko nodded, and Celeste spoke up next,

"My winnings up to this point have been enough to support me for the rest of my life. I could earn ten million quite easily." Even when she bragged, her face mainted the dead serious look.

"My books have given be enough royalties, and I don't plan on stopping any time soon. Plus, when I finally marry master…" Byakuya sighed and shook his head.

"My family has run a successful political campaign for years on a rather minimal budget. I should also add that I would never betray my friend in exchange for something like money…" Taka nodded to Kyoko, and she faced the rest of the room.

"So that leaves Asahina, Chihiro, Sakura, and Yasuhiro."

"Don't forget about yourself…" Yasuhiro mumbled just loud enough for everyone to hear. Suddenly, Celeste gasped and clapped her hands together quickly.

"Oh, I just remembered that Yasuhiro is in crippling debt and has been for several years." Yasuhiro shot up out of his seat and pointed at her.

"Hey, that was supposed to be a secret alright? You could have just given me some of your winnings and I wouldn't have to worry about a thing…" Celeste shook her head and everyone turned their attention to Yasuhiro. Kyoko cleared her throat and began to speak,

"In that case, who would like to accompany Yasuhiro for the remainder of the motive?" Yashiro faced Kyoko with his mouth gaping open.

"Oh you gotta be joking! I don't need a babysitter, I won't rat I swear on my clarvoyient powers!" Everyone stared at him in silence before Taka raised his voice,

"I will complete this task myself, if that is fine with the rest of you." Before Yasuhiro could protest, Kyoko nodded.

"That's fine by me. As for the rest of you, just remember that Joker is our friend, and someone who would never betray you. Try to return that kindness." The room was filled with murmurs and Kyoko sat back down beside Chihiro. Don't worry Joker, we're gonna get you out of there. One way or another…

Joker looked when he could hear footsteps clanging out against the metal. Justine was there, with a unusually concerned look on her face. Joker did his best to smile as she walked up to him in the dark.

"Such a fate is...pitiful, even for you innate. There is little me or Caroline can do to better your state." Joker shook his head and spoke, his voice raspy and low.

"It's alright, I trust them. They'll find a way to get me out of here." Justine looked sadly at her clipboard.

"I'll do my best to keep you informed. I'm sorry to say that's the extent of my help at the moment." Joker smile and adjusted his position against the wall.

"Thanks, I appreciate that." Justine moved slowly back out of the room, her small frame fading away in the dark. Joker sighed, and put his head into his hands as he was left alone in the darkness again.


	22. Chapter 22

Breach and Clear

The cafeteria cleared out slowly after Kyoko's speech, and Kyoko turned to speak to Chihiro.

"Learn anything from your friend?" She pointed the the computer and Chihiro shook his head.

"Alibaba has been quiet since the kidnapping message, and AI is still working on the files. There could be something there but I don't know how much time it will take…" Kyoko sighed and nodded.

"You're gonna be sticking with me for a while alright?" Chihiro nodded sadly sans looked down at the table. Kyoko reaches over to him, and patted his shoulder. "Hey, Joker will be fine as long as we stick together. Me and you are the only ones who can do any real damage anyway." Chihiro smiled and Kyoko could see some color return to his face.

"Yeah...okay I'm with you." Kyoko stood up and began to move toward the door.

"Come on, there's some people I want to talk to more personally." Chihiro stood up with her and followed her to the door. They walked up the stairs together to the second floor. They reached the pool room , where Kyoko and Chihiro both entered to find Asahina swimming hard in the water. Kyoko tapped her foot as she watched her beat her hands against the water, moving through it aggressively quick. It took a few minutes before she noticed Kyoko standing there. She got up out of the water, her body dripping wet and walked over. Kyoko spoke to her as Asahina grabbed a towel,

"Are you alright? You were swimming really hard out there," Asahina nodded and dried herself off,

"I'm okay, I just hate not being able to do anything. We just have to sit here and wait for Monokuma to let Joker go, or for someone to betray our friend. What kind of choice is that?" Kyoko nodded,

"I get their your frustrated. Mind if ask you a few questions?" Asahina stopped and put her towel down. She put her hand on her hip and tilted her head to the side,

"Yeah, what can I help with?" Kyoko stared at her a moment, thinking about her talking to Joker the other day. She had turned the corner to investigate the new floor when she found them hugging at the staircase. How close are you two really?

"Did Joker ever mention anything to you that was...out of the ordinary?" Asahina let out a little laugh and shook her head.

"Not that I could think of. He mostly just listened whenever I spoke, you know he's not really the talkative type." Kyoko took out her notepad and wrote some of what she had said down.

"Right, but nothing at all sticks out? Maybe he said something about the trials, or finding out who runs this place?"

"You know, it seems like you know more than I do about him. Maybe I should be asking you stuff instead…" Kyoko gripped her notebook harder and let out a sigh. Damn it, this is getting nowhere…

"I'm just trying to make sure nobody does anything stupid. Sorry to have bothered you," Kyoko turned around to leave, and Asahina grabbed her shoulder.

"Wait.. I'm sorry I didn't mean to snap at you. I just want Joker to be okay is all, you know?" Kyoko felt herself smiling a little, and nodded at Asahina

"I understand. Take care of yourself okay? I'll let you know if I can find anything." Asahina smiled brightly,

"Thanks Kyoko." She walked away and stepped back into the pool as Kyoko left the room with Chihiro behind her.

Joker walked around the metal room again, trying to touch each part of the wall. Maybe I missed something before like a hatch or a window. He put me in here somehow so there has to be a way out… He jumped when suddenly there was the sound of footsteps behind him. He took a sigh of relief when he turned around and saw Justine standing there.

"I didn't mean to startle you, Prisoner. I simply have some information that you may find...comforting." Joker sat against the wall, and rubbed his eyes as they strained to see Justine in the dark.

"It's okay, what did you want to say?"

"Your ally, the one with the purple hair and gloves, is rallying the others to ensure they won't turn against you. She's investigating others and trying to make sure they are all united. I admit that I find her methods quite admirable." Joker let out a small laugh and stretched his arms out.

"Yeah, I think you and Kyoko might actually get along. Is that it?" She nodded,

"For now that is all the information I have. I was instructed to inform you that Master wishes to see you as soon as you are able. And um…" She paused for a moment and Joker could see her looking at the floor.

"Caroline said she is worried about you as well. I'd prefer if you keep that information between us Prisoner."

"My lips are sealed. Thank you Justine…" Justine nodded her head, and opened her mouth to say something, but stayed silent. She turned away, and walked off into the dark while Joker resumed his search.

Kyoko sat in the library, looking over her notes repeatedly while Chihiro tapped away on his laptop. For now, we seem to be okay… if there is no new tricks we should be alright. Chihiro suddenly stopped typing, and looked up at Kyoko.

"Hey...does the name Jin mean anything to you?" Kyoko put away her notebook and looked up at Chihiro.

"I don't think so. Why?" Chihiro turned the laptop around, and on it showed several people on a chart all with labels beside their names. At the top the chart read "Hope's Peak High School Staff", and directly under that the name, "Jin Kirigiri- Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy." As Kyoko read the name to herself, Chihiro spoke out,

"Is it possible the headmaster is someone related to you?" Kyoko bit her lip as she stared at the image, the face in the screen resonating with her.

"I… I don't know." Could my father be the headmaster here? This man doesn't look like someone who would use a robotic bear to torment kids inside an abandoned school. "Do we know how recent this data is?" Chihiro flipped the computer back to face him and typed a bit more out.

"Well, something interesting is that I can't seem to find anything from more than one year ago. Even the encrypted data hasn't been updated in a year, which is incredibly strange. The only thing that I can see was touched was the security system for the school, but I can't access that without being directly connected." Kyoko opened her mouth to speak but the door to the library suddenly was slammed open. They both turned around quickly and saw Sakura standing there breathing heavily.

"Kyoko! Chihiro! Come quick, something happened with Taka and Yasahiro!" They quickly got up and followed Sakura out the door, and down the hall. She took them up the stairs into the game room, and in there they saw what Sakura had been referring to. There was a huge puddle of blood pouring out from Taka who was face down, and Yashiro appeared to be have a hole in his head where blood spilled from. Chihiro gasped and turned away while Kyoko moved toward Yasahiro. She felt his neck, and then moved on to Taka. She got up and shook her head as she looked Sakura. Sakura punched the wall with fury, the walls seemingly shaking with the impact.

"Damn it! How the hell could this happen?"

"Hey, don't go damaging school property now? It't ain't cheap running this place you know!" Monokuma walked into the room seemingly out of nowhere. "Looks like we got a double this time. Double the thrills, double the chills, double the kills!" He laughed out loud as Sakura shot a look of pure hatred at the bear. He pretended to wipe his eyes as the remaining students filled the room, with the exception of Toko. "I'm glad you all could make it! Here are you're Monokuma files, why don't you get started right away! I ain't made of time you know. Just fur, metal, and salmon." He laughed as he disappeared again, leaving behind his signature case files. Kyoko picked on up and examined it. It read, "Victim #1-Taka Ishimaru, the Ultimate Moral Compass. Sustained a large wound to the abdominal region created by a thin blade. Resulted in massive blood loss which caused his death minutes after the wound was created." Kyoko clicked the screen of the file and it switched over to a new one which read, "Victim #2- Yasuhiro Hagakure. Received a small puncture wound in his ankle which resulted in the severing of his achilles tendon. Killed by receiving a large amount of blunt force to the head, resulting in major brain damage and skull fractures." Kyoko sighed looked over the bodies again. Wait a minute… Kyoko moved quickly out the door, and walked deeper into the hallway. She headed into the art room, and looked around to make sure it was empty.

"Monokuma!" The bear was standing in front of her seconds after she called his name.

"Hi there mystery girl, care to chat at such an intense plot development?"

"Where's Joker? You said you would free him if there was a murder before anyone betrayed him." Monokuma giggled and shook his head.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I believe I said that I would set him free if someone was killed, which I am going to do. But I never said it would be right after someone killed. He'll see you at the class trial…" Monokuma disappeared and Kyoko swore under her breath. The door to the art room opened behind her, and Chihiro came inside quietly.

"Are you alright Kyoko?" Kyoko shook her head and rubbed her eyes.

"Joker won't be released until after the investigation. We'll have to play by Monokuma's rules this time, no palace." Chihiro's eyes widened,

"What? So we're gonna need to solve this murder ourselves…" Kyoko nodded, and opened the door to get back into the hallway.

"Cmon, let's get back to the crime scene." They both returned to the game room, where both bodies laid still on the ground. Byakuya, Celeste, and Sakura were all still in there, looking over the corpses. Kyoko turned to Chihiro and whispered in his ear, "See if you can find anything on your computer about this, okay? I'll be here." Chihiro nodded confidently and left the room as Kyoko walked up to Sakura. Once she got close enough Sakura stood up and faced her.

"Kyoko, can I help you with something?"

"Yes, you can start by telling me how you found the bodies." Sakura sighed and crossed her arms.

"Well I hope my explanation will release me from any suspicion you may have. Asahina and I planned to come here this morning, and when we arrived her together, we found the bodies like this. We split up after that, looking for everyone so we could show them what we found." Kyoko filled in what she had said in her notebook, nodding along as Sakura explained herself.

"Thank you, that will work for now. Have you found anything of interest?"

"I have as a matter of fact." Kyoko turned to face Byakuya, who was holding a box cutter drenched with blood in his hand. "I found this over there in the magazine rack. It appears as though the killer tried to hide it quickly." Kyoko walked over to him, and he handed her the box cutter. Sharp, and definitely thin enough to cause the wound on Taka. Celeste clapped her hands together quickly.

"Wonderful, we now have the murder weapon." Kyoko shook her head and moved over to Yashahiro's body.

"No, not quite. We have what likely killed Taka, but there is still they mystery of what did this to Yashiro's head." Byakuya kneeled over the body, examining the head closer.

"That isn't the case necessarily. The murder weapon may be something much more simple. The damage here is sloppy, but there was quite a bit of power on display. Someone may have lost their temper." Sakura looked at both bodies,

"So you're saying that Yashiro was not planned to be killed?" Byakuya nodded and stood up,

"Precisely, its possible that this was a crime of passion rather than necessity. This rules out both you and Chihiro." Sakura raised her eyebrow questioningly,

"As much as I'm in favor of your deduction, why do you think that's the case?"

"Well, if this wound was inflicted in the manner I believe it was, then you are much to powerful to leave such a small,albeit it fatal, injury. Chihiro on the other hand is much too frail to attack like this." Sakura nodded,

"But couldn't the same logic be used to rule out Toko? She has a similarly small build to Chihiro." Byakuya shook his head and moved toward the door.

"For now, I wouldn't rule her out. She's...capable of more than we might think." He left the room as the rest of them watched. Kyoko moves to do the same,

"I'm going to investigate some other leads. Sakura do you think you can watch over the crime scene?" Sakura nodded and Kyoko left the room.

Joker covered his eyes as a bright light filled the room. Monokuma's laugh flooded the cell, bouncing off the metal walls as Joker's eyes attempted to adjust to the new brightness. When he could finally see, Monokuma stood in front of him with blindfold in his paws. "Cmon Joker. They're all waiting on you…"


	23. Chapter 23

Joker's Wild

Kyoko stood in the incinerator room and sighed to herself, her tablet laying on the floor in front of her. _It's impossible... how can we do it without him?_ She began to pick it up as the door creaked open behind her. She turned to see Chihiro, standing in the doorway with this hands behind his back.

"I thought you might be in here…" Kyoko brushed herself off a bit and crossed her arms.

"I'm guessing you didn't find anything?" Chihiro shook his head.

"Nothing. What about you?" Kyoko removed her notebook and began to flip through it,

"I'm not really sure yet if I'm going to be perfectly honest. I've only been able to rule out a few people." She turned to the page that she had labeled "Innocents" and handed it to Chihiro. He began to read them out loud,

"Chihiro, Sakura, Asahina, and Kyoko are all innocent by way of either evidence or alibi." Kyoko nodded her head,

"You were deemed innocent by evidence, and since I was with you that puts us both in the clear. Same goes for Sakura and Asahina."

"So that leaves Toko, Byakuya, and Celeste? Would any of them really kill Hiro and Taka?" Kyoko shrugged her shoulder, and the TV in the corner of the room flipped on. Monokuma's face was on the screen, with his usual grin and his eyes glowing bright red.

"It's showtime boys and girls! I hope you're ready for a brand new trial. Try to hurry along, this time you have a special guest waiting for you puhuhuhu…" The TV flashes on and Kyoko turned to face Chihiro again.

"Do you think he was talking about Joker?" Kyoko moved toward the door quickly and opened it,

"We won't know till we get there. C'mon, let's move." Chihiro nodded, and they both made their way to the elevator room. Once inside, they stood in the elevator and waited for the rest to come. Kyoko tapped her foot impatiently, her eyes locked on the door where the rest of the students would come in from. _We're close Joker. You just have to hold out a little longer._

Despite the blindfold on his face, Joker could tell he was in the courtroom where the previous class trials were held. Monokuma had said that this would be a totally fair trial, and that he wouldn't take any chances. As soon as he let him out of the room, he placed a blindfold over his eyes and earplugs in his ears. Over his mouth, a piece of duct tape had been attached to prevent him from speaking. _Where are they?_ He tried to speak through the tape but all that came out was muffled gibberish. Suddenly, he could hear the dull sound of the elevator coming down close to where he was. He tried to turn to face it, but it was impossible to tell where the sound had been coming from. He moved his body around, trying to maybe catch a glimpse of something through the blindfold, but to no avail. Without warning, he suddenly felt arms being wrapped around his body, and he again struggled to speak through the gag. _They're here, but that means that one of them killed somebody. Kyoko...Chihiro...what happened while I was gone?_

Kyoko stepped calmly outside of the elevator but her heart raced when she saw Joker in the room. He had a dark black blindfold over his eyes, with orange ear plugs poking out of his ears and tape on his mouth. _What the hell did Monokuma do to you?_ Asahina pushed passed her, and ran over to Joker. She threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly and Joker squirmed in his spot.

"Hey, hands of the criminal!" Monokuma had taken up his usual position, and was slamming his gavel onto the stand. Kyoko pointed her finger at him as she went to her position,

"Criminal? I guess to you don't believe in innocent until proven guilty?" Monokuma laughed, and shook his head.

"I'm a slave to the facts. Besides, I don't think any of you are really innocent. After all, you sent your friends to their deaths, didn't you?" Kyoko sighed and took her spot as the rest of students made their way into the room. Monokuma looked around at everyone and nodded his head. "I don't think I need to explain to everyone how this works. One of you is a killer, and the others did to find out who it is. Do so successfully and I'll only punish the murderer. Fail, and I punish everyone beside the killer." Kyoko cleared her throat and stood up.

"Let's start basic, all right? We know for a fact that both Taka and Hiro were killed in rapid succession, with less than five mins between each murder." Celeste stood up and stared directly at Kyoko,

"And how do we know this for certain? I don't mean to doubt but it would be best to proceed with everyone in agreement, no?" Kyoko nodded, and looked at Sakura who began to speak.

"When me and Asahina arrived at the game room, both were already dead. There was still fresh blood on both the corpses, so they must have been killed together."

"But as I stated before, this most likely wasn't the planned outcome from the killer." Byakuya was speaking aloud now, adjusting his glasses as he spoke, "It would appear that Taka was intended to be killed, but it seems that Yasahiro was victim of circumstance. More importantly his wound is quite unique, and may end this case early. Care to elaborate Kyoko?" Kyoko looked over at him, _why is he calling me out here? Something is off…but that's not the point. What could have caused Yashiro's wound?_ She pictured the scene of the crime in her mind, the small entry wound that seemed to have penetrated with force. _That's it!_

"That easiest way to inflict an injury like that would be if the person was already on the ground. A hole of that size was most likely inflicted with something sharp but thin. I believe what Byakuya is attempting to imply is that it was done with the heel. More specifically, a stiletto heel." Byakuya smirked and looked around the room.

"That's right, and I believe that there is only one person in this room wearing those types of shoes…" He pointed his finger at Celeste, who stared back at him deadly calm.

"Are you implying that I killed both Taka and Yasuhiro just because I wear stiletto heels? Well let me tell you all something." All of a sudden, her face shifted into an ugly snarl, and she shouted aloud while flipping off Byakuya. "That's a load of bullshit you stuck up fuck!Why don't you try getting some real evidence before you start talking shit!" Everyone's eyes widened as the words left her mouth and she stood there breathing hard. Byakuya laughed her off,

"It wasn't much evidence, but I think your reaction seals this case closed."

"Not so fast, this case isn't over just yet." Byakuya turned and saw Monokuma there giggling. "I don't think your doing our mutual friend Taka justice if you don't figure out anything about his death." Kyoko sighed rubbing her eyes and Sakura spoke aloud,

"You can't change the rules now Monokuma…" Monokuma burst into laughter, his small frame rolling around in his seat.

"Oh that's rich! I think you're all forgetting your place! This is my game, you are simply my students. I make the rules here, this is my school" Kyoko shot a look at Joker, who was still squirming in his seat and turned to face Sakura,

"Let's just do what he wants and get this over with. It would be useless to fight him now…" Monokuma held his paw over his mouth as he spoke,

"Puhuhuhu...at least someone gets it here. You can all learn a thing or two from the amnesiac you know. More than you might think…" Kyoko cleared her throat and returned her attention to Celeste who seemed to have regained her composure.

"My apologies for my outburst, I believe it was like he wise to follow the bears advice as well. I believe that the evidence will surely rid you of your doubts." Byakuya sighed before he began to speak,

"If we must… we know Taka was killed by a large cut made into his stomach by a thin blade." Kyoko nodded,

"From what I noticed it appears as though the weapon used can have been extremely small, like some sort of scissor or scalpel, in which case the weapon could have been hidden quite easily."

"Um...I've actually been missing a scissor…" Kyoko turned to see who was speaking, and saw that it was Toko, her body shivering as she finished speaking. Kyoko could see that Celetese's eyes were glaring at Toko, and Kyoko began to speak.

"If you don't mind me asking, why is it you have a personal pair of scissors?" Toko shook her head quickly and looked away,

"That's none of your business! The important part is one of my pairs went missing yesterday, and I haven't been able to find it since then…"

"Shut your mouth you ugly cow! Nobody wants to hear your pathetic voice alright?" It was Celeste again, with the rage once again plastered on her face. Toko gasped on looked at the floor as Byakuya shook his head.

"I really don't think there is any need to continue with this game Celete. We've deduced it was you, and your hideous attempts at lying bore me if I were to be honest," Monokuma began to wipe a fake tear from his eye as Byakuya finished speaking.

"Look at all of you, coming together as class to solve a mysterious like this! Why, this is all a headmaster could ever ask for… let's begin the voting, shall we?" In front of Kyoko, the familiar panel appeared showing all the names of her fellow students. She looked around the room, as everyone began to select their choices. She picked Celeste and waited for the results to be announced. _We're treading on thin ice here… we need to get back Joker._

Joker could barely hear the commotion of the trial through the plugs on his ears. People seemed to be yelling, and Monokuma's piercing laugh and creepy giggle always managed to make themselves heard. He feel the platform he stood on rumble in front of him, and took a step back. _The voting panel….they completed the trial already?_ Suddenly there was a bright flash of light, and Joker could see everyone around him. All of the students eyes were on him as he adjusted to his surroundings. Monokuma was standing behind him, and removed all of the things restricting Joker. With the plugs removed and his hands free, Joker took a sigh of relief as Monokuma spoke to him.

"Well I'm sorry about this misunderstanding Joker, it looks like I was wrong about you. I hope we can go back to our old relationship, I feel like we really had a powerful bond, don't you?" Joker could hear someone scoff nearby, and he turned to see Justine sitting near the elevator. _She must have been watching me this whole time…_ She nodded to him, and Joker turned back to look at Monokuma and the voting panel. "Well pick someone so we can get this show on the road!"

"It's Celeste Joker, trust me." Joker turned to see Kyoko looking at him, and Celeste breathing heavily, seemingly ready to burst with rage. Joker looked down at the panel, and made his choice. _What happened while I was gone..._

Author's Note- Hi everyone, I just wanted to quickly say that I apologize for the lack of updates to the story recently. I hope to be back on schedule soon, and you can expect a more regular flow of chapters in the near future. Thank you for you patience, and I hope you enjoy the story!


	24. Chapter 24

Intermission 3

"Yo check this out." Makoto walked over to the table and picked up the replica pistol. It felt heavy in his hand, and glistened brightly.

"Wow...are you sure this isn't real?" Iwai nodded his head and smiled smugly,

"Made it myself, thing couldn't even fire blanks. Only way its gonna hurt somebody is if you hit them upside the head with it." Makoto smiled and put the weapon back on the table.

"The more you can make the better. The less we have to hurt people the better, hopefully these will scare them off…" Iwai picked up the gun and began to polish it with a cloth, the toothpick he constantly chewed hanging loosely from his lips.

"You're a good kid Makoto, not many kids got the guts to do what you do. I respect that," Makato nodded and turned to respond when Ann came into the room.

"Sorry to interrupt Joker, but we got a call." Makoto raised his eyebrow and followed Ann out of the room with Iwai behind him. They reached the top of the penthouse where Futaba was outside with her laptop.

"Is the connection any better now?"

"Yes it's perfectly clear now thank you." A voice came out from the computer that appeared to be talking to Futaba. Makoto walked behind her and tapped her shoulder. She turned with wide eyes and quickly handed the laptop to him. He looked at the screen and saw a young looking man dressed in a suit with a stern look on his face. "Ah, you must be Makoto Naegi, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." Makoto let out a nervous laugh and set the laptop down.

"Thanks, do you mind if I ask who you are?" The man smiled slightly and adjusted his tie.

"Excuse my manners, my name is Kyosuke Munakata, the vice chairmen of the future foundation. We've been keeping a very close eye on you recently, and have a proposition to offer." Makoto looked around behind him and saw that Iwai, Futaba, and Ann were all looking at him intently. He cleared his throat and returned his attention the computer.

"Um..what did you have in mind exactly?"

"I'm glad you asked. You see, despite our nearly limitless resources we haven't been able to penetrate Hope's Peak through any means. But we've heard that your group has managed to make contact with them through one of the student's computer." Makoto stared at the computer processing what he had just told him.

"How do you know that? We made sure the cameras within the building were shut down in areas where we contacted, none of our conversations with the students have been broadcasted." The same smug smile returned to Munakata's face as he answered,

"We have our ways of gathering information, but don't worry. We have no intent on using such data as leverage or for any other malicious practice. Instead the Future Foundation has chosen to request a merger between our two forces." Makoto opened his mouth and could hear a small gasp from Futaba.

"A merger?" The man on the screen nodded his head confidently and continued to explain.

"Yes, we believe that with our forces combined we would be able to rid the world of despair permanently, and free the students trapped within Hope's Peak Academy." Makoto's heart beat in his chest, and his mind began to race.

"Um...that's a pretty big proposal."

"Indeed it is, however I must ask that you make a decision right now. As you already know, time is not on anyone's side." Makoto turned to look back at the group behind him. Futaba's eyes were on the floor along with Iwai's, but Ann looked at him confidently. She shook her head quick, her blond hair shaking back and forth furiously. Makoto sighed and smiled at her, returning his attention to the computer.

"I'm sorry, I think we're gonna have to decline. We've made it this far on our own, and I think it would be best if we kept it that way." Munakata frowned and sighed, adjusting his suit again.

"Very well, but I must say that we are quite disappointed by your decision. Together we could have rid the world of everything that destroyed it."

"Hope is what this world need Munakata, not anymore destruction." Munakata shook his head, and suddenly the screen went black. Makoto turned to Futaba, who came over and picked up the computer.

"I think that was the right choice Makoto, if it means anything." Makoto smiled on her and nodded,

"Of course it does. Kind of a relief actually…" Iwai came and patted him on the shoulder,

"Feel the same way honestly. Never liked to take orders from strangers anyway." Before Makoto could say anything else, Ryugi came outside.

"Yo, there is something downstairs. I think it's like...a package or something." Makoto looked around at the rest of them, and watched them shrug their shoulders.

"I'll take a look I guess...Iwai and Ryugi come with me. Futaba and Ann, inform people of what just happened please, I really don't want to keep any of this a secret." Ryugi scratched his head and looked around the room.

"Uh...am I missing something? What are you talking about?" Makoto shook his head and began to walk.

"I'll explain later, let's go take a look at that package." The three of them began to walk down the flights of stairs leading to the first floor. When they arrived, the package that Ryugu was talking about sat right in front of the building. It was a large brown box, with no markings or papers on it at all. Makoto moved to open the door, but Ryugi stepped in front of him and shook his head.

"Naw, this has trap written all over it. I'll go get it, make sure the coast is clear and all. Couldn't risk our leader getting hurt right?" He opened the door and walked outside carefully, looking around as he went for the box. He lifted it up quickly, and made a dash back into the building. He nodded to Makoto as he sat the box down in front of him. Makoto reached down and began to open the box. Inside was a small metal container, with the symbol of a gold dragon printed onto it.

"What is this…" Without warning Iwai reached inside the box and picked up the container. He ran to the door and opened it, throwing the box outside. Before Makoto knew what was happening, an explosion threw him across the floor. He struggled to look up, and saw Iwai near the door with blood trickling from his leg. Meanwhile Ryugi was already standing, leaning against the wall holding his head with one hand. Makoto finally stood, and limped over to Iwai and flipped him over. A small piece of broken glass embedded itself into his leg. Makoto grabbed his arms, and pulled him further inside the building, finally collapsing onto the floor. Ryugi had moved to the staircase, and picked up his metal pipe. He moved back toward the front entrance, using it as a cane as Makoto could hear laughter erupt from outside. In the smoke from the explosion, two figures came forward. One was a boy who looked like the same age as Makoto wearing a black suit with a fedora on his head. The other was a girl dressed like a nurse with wild eyes carrying a cartoonishly large needle. The laughter appeared to be coming from her as she seemed to shake with glee as she saw Ryugi come closer to her.

"Ooooooohhhhh you look like you need some help. Don't worry, I'll help." Ryugi swung his piper awkwardly at her, and nearly fell over.

"Stay back you freaky bitch…" The nurse gasped and her expression changed instantly, her eyes filling up with tears. The boy moved forward with lightning speed and punched Ryugi right in his stomach with surprising force. Ryugi fell to the ground moaning and the pipe clanged to the floor next to him

"You better watch your mouth you little shit. Didn't your mother ever teach you how to talk to a lady?" Makoto looked at Ryugi and then back at Iwai. He was still unconsciousness, but Makoto could see his chest rising and falling softly. Makoto's eyes widened as he saw something glistening inside his coat, and reached in to remove the replica pistol he had been admiring before. He groaned as he stood with the weapon in hand and face the two intruders. They were both looking at him now, and he raised the weapon at them.

"Get out of here...now." The one in the suit raised his hands up mockingly, his eyes locked on the gun. Makoto could feel the sweat running down the side of his head as he kept the sights trained on him.

"Hey relax kid, you don't need to wave that thing around alright? We're just here to send a message. Stop interfering with the game taking place in Hope's Peak, or else we're gonna have to step in and sort things out, alright? Trust me...you don't want to fuck with us." He nodded his head to the nurse, and she resumed her crazed giggling. She dropped a small bandage on Ryugi's crumpled form, and skipped out along with boy. Makoto watched them leave before dropping the gun on the ground and taking a deep breath. He limped over to Ryugi, and helped him to his feet. As he stood, the bandage fell to the floor. Makoto picked it up and examined it, feeling sick to his stomach as he saw that it was covered in Monokuma's face. He looked at Ryugi and suddenly his vision began to get red. He reached on to his head and winced as he felt a sharp pain. Am I bleeding… Before he could think more Makoto collapsed onto the ground as footsteps pounded on the floor. The last he could hear was Ryugi yelling his name as he slipped into unconsciousness


	25. Chapter 25

Hellfire

Joker laid awake in bed the image of Celeste still burning etched into his mind. Her execution was one of the first things he had seen in the last couple of hours, and it was more horrific than he wanted to remember. He thought about how she screamed at him as he voted for her, the curses and swears flying out of her like she was a completely new person. After the execution, there was only silence as Monokuma explained that he had a as special surprise ready for them that he would present tomorrow. Joker sighed and got up from his bed. _The last thing I want right now is any more darkness…_ He walked outside his room and began to walk down the hallways of the school his footsteps echoing down the empty corridors. Joker looked at the labels of the doors in the dorm, each which beared the name of one of his classmates. _Sayaka, Leon, Hifumi, Mondo, Hiro, Taka, Celeste… all of you are gone. And it's all his fault._ He stopped as he reached the door with just question marks on the label.

"Shame you never got to meet her, I think you two would have hit it off." Joker jumped as someone suddenly starting speaking behind him. He turned and saw Monokuma there, looking wistfully at the door. "Say maybe I owe you for the whole 'locking you in a dark cell and threatening you with death' thing. What do you say we take a look inside shall we?" Joker felt himself nod to the bear but he didn't know why. _Something about her... that mask, that tattoo that came off in the blood. Who was she…_ Monokuma giggled and moved to open the door. "Good choice. I bet you haven't been in a girl's room yet, just don't get too excited okay?" He unlocked the door and opened it slowly. He waddled inside while Joker followed, looking around at everything inside. In the bathroom was an insane amount of beauty products, everything from wigs to lotion to makeup. The closet door was already open, and was seemingly stuffed to its limits with what looked like designer clothes.

"This wasn't really what I was expecting." Monokuma continued his maniacal giggle and turned to face Joker.

"Looks can often be deceiving. Plans change and people change, almost nothing stays the same. Except when your dead, you can't change that. I'm sure you quite familiar with that. I'm sure the girl who died also knows that, better than you can imagine." Joker sighed, and faced Monokuma.

"Why are you showing me this. Who was she."

"She was someone who put too much trust in blood, and ended up having hers cover the walls and floor. Trust what you can see with your eyes Joker, don't trust your memories. Most of them are gone anyway." Joker stood there with his heart pounding, the surprisingly grim words of Monokuma hanging thickly in the air. "I think we're done in here, I think we've both had enough for tonight." Monokuma walked out of the room, and Joker followed him dazed. By the time Joker had left the room, the bear had already disappeared, and they door shut quickly behind him.

"Is that you Joker?" He turned to see Asahina standing there, her body dripping wet with a towel around her body. She walked over to him looking at his face curiously, "What are you doing up right now?" Joker rubbed his head and looked around,

"Had trouble sleeping, I think Monokuma's prison cell really messed with my head." She pouted and sighed,

"It must have been awful...Monokuma will pay for what he did to us. To you…" Joker smiled a bit and noticed that Asahina's face got a little red. "Anyway, come to my room for a bit. I have some donuts if you want, I don't really think I can sleep much either."

"It's alright I can just spend some time in my room till morning." She shook her head quickly and grabbed his hand, pulling him along to her room. He waited as she opened up the door and stepped inside, following her in. She went over to her draw and picked up a tank top and underwear. Joker leaned against the wall as she went over to the bathroom,

"I'm just gonna change out of these wet clothes...the donuts are on the desk over there you can help yourself." Joker nodded to her and she went inside, shutting the door behind her. He walked over to the desk, and saw a box filled with colorful looking donuts of all shapes and sizes. He picked up a glazed one and began to walk around her room, looking at the trophies on all of the walls. _Wow… it's easy to forget I'm here with people who are the best at what they do. And here I am with the title "Ultimate Justice"._ Joker took a bite of his doughnut as heard the door open behind him. Asahina walked out, drying her hair out with a towel. When he looked at her he felt his face grow hot and he turned away to face the medals again.

"These are really impressive, a lot of gold up here." Asahina walked up beside him and went over to the box of donuts.

"They freak me out...all of those were in my house before I got here. I have no idea why their in my room." Joker rubbed the back of his head and looked away from the medals.

"Oh. This place is the worst." Ashina laughed as she took a bite of a donut covered with sprinkles.

"Yeah, that's one way to put it. I actually don't think it would be too bad if Monokuma wasn't here. This was almost our school you know." Joker nodded his head and moved to sit on the bed.

"Hard to believe really, I've only been able to see this place as a prison."

"You know it's funny, but I just keep wondering if any of us would be so close of it wasn't for this place." Joker smiled and looked over at Asahina, seeing the sad smile on her face.

"Well, me and you were already talking when we came in here. Plus you and Sakura get along so well I can't imagine you apart." Suddenly Joker could notice a clear sadness come over Asahina's face.

"Yeah… but she's been acting so strange lately."

"Who, Sakura?" Asahina nodded her head and sighed, sitting on the bed beside Joker and pulling her knees up to her chest.

"I've been worried about her recently, but she just shrugs me off telling me she's okay. But there is something inside her, something eating away at her and I'm afraid if she doesn't let it out soon something really bad is gonna happen." Joker could see the worry on her face as she spoke, and her rushed voice.

"Well...there is something we can do but I can't guarantee that it will work. You have to promise to keep it between us for now though, alright?" Asahina looked up at him, tilting her head curiously.

"What are you talking about?" Joker shook his head and stood up.

"We can't do it here, meet me in the incinerator room in five minutes, there someone I need to get first." Before she could say anything Joker turned and walked out of the room. He walked quickly down the hall to Kyoko's room, and knocked on the door. _What the hell am I doing? Am I really gonna drag Asahina into all this?_ Before he could think any more the door creaked open slightly and Kyoko peeked her head out. "I need your help." She nodded and shut the door before Joker could explain, and seconds later she was opened it again and stood there with her arms crossed.

"Lead the way."

"Um...right." Joker turned and hurried toward the incinerator room, and looked around before he opened the door to walk inside. Asahina was already in there, shivering while she was leaning up against the wall.

"You could have at least given me time to get dressed…" Joker cleared his throat as he reached into his pocket to pull out his tablet.

"Sorry about that. Kyoko, Asahina is really worried about Sakura and I think this might be able to help." Kyoko barely looked at Joker as she strode past and stared directly at Asahina.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You're gonna attract the attention of Monokuma for sure if you do." Asahina;s eyes glowed with determination as she spoke,

"If it will help my friend, I'll do anything." Kyoko stepped back and nodded her head.

"Alright, Joker let's start it up." Joker clicked on the app, and started the formula.

"Sakura."

"Accepted." Joker and Kyoko stared at the tablet with intense curiosity as Asahina looked at them both worriedly.

"Is that good?" Kyoko shrugged and tried to explain,

"Well it means there is something troubling her, but it also means that we might be able to solve it. Next up, school.

"Accepted." Joker nodded and tried to think, _Okay keyword and cognitive location._

"Sakura is a...fighter, a warrior, a champion. That's why she's here right?"

"Phrase accepted:warrior" Kyoko nodded as Asahina stared in confusion.

"So that just leaves place…" Kyoko moved toward the tablet and spoke.

"Arena."

"Destination accepted." The world around Joker began to fade away, and he held his head as everything lost focus. Second later, the world around him seemed to take shape as he appears to be in a dusty small room. Through the walls he could hear thunderous voices, and he looked around to see guards all around him. He lifted his hands and began to feel the power build up before he was tackled onto the ground. He fought to stand up as someone suddenly came over and stood in front of him, casting a large shadow over the room. He looked up to see Sakura, dressed in full ancient combat gear, looking down at him wielding a large axe.

"Well...it would appear that we have a new champion."


	26. Chapter 26

Raw

Joker stared up at her as Sakura sneered down at him, and motioned for the guards to let him go. Joker shakily got to is feet, and felt the cold steel of axe against his neck.

"You will be the entertainment for today. Refuse, and I will cover these walls in your blood right now." Joker looked around the room for a way out, and finally nodded his head slowly. The axe was removed from his neck, and Sakura stepped away from him. "Wise choice. Take the prisoner to the armory and get him equipped. Ensure that the princess is also attended to." The guards saluted her and grabbed Joker by his arms, yanking him quickly out of the room. Joker stared at them closely and noticed that they were simply suits of armor with nothing inside. On each of their sides was a long curved sword held on to them by a small sheath. They guided him into a large room, throwing him on to the floor and shutting a large steel door behind him. When he stood back up, he saw that he was in a room loaded to the brim with various unique weapons and armor from various parts of ancient history. In the corner, Kyoko was there in her costume, holding a small glowing hammer. Once she saw him, she made her way over quickly.

"Where's Asahina?" Kyoko shook her head and flipped over the hammer on her hand.

"Gone, they took her away. They called her "princess" and dragged her off before they took me here." Joker sighed and kicked over a rack covered with maces and swords.

"Damn it… now we need to find her and the treasure." Kyoko tilted her head curiously and the hammer in her hand disappeared.

"Why did you bring her here any way? Chihiro is powerful enough to help us, there was no need to put her in any danger." Joker shook his head and picked up one of the weapons her had knocked on the floor.

"She was the one who thought that Sakura needed help. I couldn't just leave her, especially since we have no idea how much time is left before Sakura does something wrong in reality. I mean look at this place…" He flipped over the weapon that he had picked up in his hand. It was a small dagger, the blade jagged and dangerously sharp. He placed it into his coat pocket, and the door behind him opened. Two more guards walked in, each carrying long spears that were immediately pointed at Joker and Kyoko.

"Time is up Prisoner, the crowd awaits your arrival." Joker looked over at Kyoko, and went along with the guards. He followed them out of the room and back into the hallway, where the shouts of the people outside could be clearly heard once again. They took him over to a large wooden door, and one of the cards pulled a switch. The door began to rise, and Joker shielded his eyes as the light hit his face. When his vision adjusted, he could see a crowd dressed like they were from ancient Greece. Joker walked out, looking around at the wide arena. It was empty except for him, and a large door on the opposite side was beginning to open. Joker felt the small blade he had picked up in his pocket, and put his hand out feeling the dark power at his fingertips. Across the arena the door finally opened, and out came a monster with three heads, one breathing fire while the others growled at Joker.

"Puhuhuhu…ladies and gentlemen, enjoy the show!" Joker's eyes widened and he looked up toward the voice. _No way…_ Sitting on a large throne that overlooked the arena, Monokuma sat giggling. Beside him, Sakura covered in armor stood guarding, and Asahina sat beside her dressed in regal attire. Joker stared for a moment before he could hear the sound of feet beating rapidly against the dirt. He looked in front of him, and dove out of the way quickly as the monster charged at him. Joker got up quickly, and faced the beast which grunted at him with flames spewing from its nostrils. It suddenly began to build up its chest, and shot a cyclone of flame at Joker. He moved out of the way quickly, feeling the heat up against his face as he dodged. He pointed his hand forward, and shot out a beam of dark force at the monster. It whined loudly as it made contact. It shook of the energy, and Joker could see he had only inflicted a small wound on the monster.

"Um...Aresne? Think we have some more power?" A laughter filled Joker's as he felt the persona emerge from behind him.

"If strength is what you seek, look no further. A true thief is capable of adapting to any situation, no matter how brutal…"Joker felt cold steel enter his hand, and he looked to see an ancient looking pistol. He pointed it at the monster, which began to charge at him once more. He pulled the trigger, and an explosion of dark energy left the weapon, and hit the monster in one of its head. The monster shook violently, and a dark ooze poured from where Joker had hit it. He felt the gun and Arsene fade away as the monster deteriorated in front of Joker. The crowd went ballistic as the creature fell, and Joker looked up to see Monokuma angrily yelling at Sakura. She simply nodded, and rose her hand in the air. The crowd fell silent, and all the eyes watched her as she spoke with a booming voice.

"I shall battle this newcomer for the title of champion. If he is capable of defeating me, he will win what I hold most dear." She began to dig her hands into her chest, and grunted as she ripped what looked like her heart straight from her body. "He will win my will to fight." She handed the bloody and still beating heart to Asahina, who took the item with her eyes wide with shock. Sakura then leapt from the top of the arena, and crashed down in the center. She lifted her axe in the air as the crowd roared with excitement. Joker put his hand down and let the power return to his body.

"I don't want to hurt you Sakura." Sakura shook her head and slammed the axe into the ground.

"Silence prisoner, there is no more time for words." With dangerous speed she threw her axe forward, and Joker left to dodge it, feeling his the back of his coat tear as the weapon flew by. When he looked back up, Sakura was already dashing toward him with a dark look in her eyes. She dove at Joker with her leg outstretched, and Joker helpd up his hands in defense. He felt an enormous amount of pressure push against his hands as he flew backward, crashing into the stone wall behind him. He groaned in the pain as he laid on the ground, feeling Arsene emerge from over his shoulder.

"Adaptation is the key to survival." Joker got back to his feet, extending his hand and seeing the cane emerge.

"I'll try to keep that in mind…" Sakura was standing on the other side of the arena, pointing to the crowd who seemed to be ecstatic. _Alright… adaptation. Let's try something new._ He brought the top of the cane onto the ground, and used it to fling a stone in Sakura's direction. It bounced off her back, and she turned around quickly with murderous intent.

"If you're the best in this world than this is one sad weak place. Why don't you show me the strength of the champion?" Joker gulped nervously as he saw the color leave Sakura's eyes, and the armor fell off her body. He muscles quivered with energy, and the lighting began to emerge from around her. She yelled a blood curdling battlecry and threw herself forward at Joker, and before he could react she held him by his throat with his back against the wall. He struggled to breath as she lifted him higher, and the slammed him to the ground with enough forced to crack the earth. Joker coughed weakly and felt his consciousness slipping. "Alright Arsene...now would be the time to adapt!" He felt the cane disappear and the pistol from before come into his hand. He dug it into Sakura's chest and she looked at him while Joker smiled. He pulled the trigger, and the explosion throw them both across the arena. He groaned on the ground and crawled to the wall, using it to help him up. He could feel his back healing slowly, and he looked across the arena to see Sakura laying on the ground with smoke coming from her chest. The crowd had grown silent, and Joker looked around at all of their shocked faces. The pistol disappeared, replaced by the cane. He used it to limp toward the center of the arena, looking at Monokuma. "Have I earned my treasure now?" The crowd roared with excitement, while Monokuma glared at Joker from on top of the stadium. Asahina looked at Joker, and then at Sakura's still raised his tiny paw into the air and the crowd quickly grew silent again. He grabbed the still beating heart from Asahina and three it down into Joker's hands.

"Congratulations on your reward Prisoner. Now I have a new challenge for you…" He laughed as threw himself off the top of the colosseum and crashed down in front of Joker. He brushed himself off and cleared his throat, his eye beginning to glow red. "Defeat me...and you get to leave her alive. Fail, and you become my new champion." Joker shook his head, and Monokuma giggled as he waved his paw in his face. "Don't get so hasty. You're not really in a position to argue." He pointed back up to the top of the colosseum where Joker was both Kyoko and Asahina kneeled on the ground with guards pointing spears at their throats. Joker looked quickly back at Monokuma, and let the power build up again in his hand.

"Fine. Let's get this over with." Monokuma let out his laugh, which got cut off by a sudden change in his face. He began to cry out as his body began to twist horrendously while Joker watched in shock. Monokumas body grew, until it seemed that half the arena was filled with his new form. A huge wolf like figure, still with his familiar bear head, covered in fur that stick out like razor blades. His claws had multiplied in length, resembling greatswords more than the nails of any animal, and when he growled Joker could see his teeth followed the same wicked design. Joker stumbled backward away from the terrible creature as it laughed deeply. He raised up his hand and shot dark force at it by the energy just seemed to bounce off the creatures thick fur coat. It swiped its hand forward and Joker felt it cut deeply into his chest. He fell to the floor, dropping Sakura's heart and clutching the newly made wounds on his chest. Joker could feel hot breath above him and when he looked up the creature was standing right above him with an evil grin on its face.

"Pitiful…" The creature raised its paw into the air to slam down on Joker, and before he knew what happening, blades of light shot into the creatures paw. Joker turned to see Kyoko standing across the arena with her persona behind her, shooting forward dozens of swords. Monokuma backed away from Joker growling while Joker got to his feet clutching his chest. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Asahina talking to Sakras still body. Joker limped over to Kyoko, feeling the wounds in his chest begin to heal.

"Should have realized I wouldn't have to do this alone." He raised his hand and felt his own energy shoot forward at the beast as Kyoko smirked beside him.

"Damsel in distress isn't really my style." The beast seemed to be recovering, with the blades of light now simply bouncing off his fur. He growled at them, and then with his head pointed up to the sky he roared deafeningly, forcing Joker and Kyoko to cover their ears. The beast moved toward them with a sneer on his face, flashing his fangs at them. Without warning, something whizzed by slamming Monokumas face into the ground. The figured moved rapidly over his body, dealing blows that exploded with electricity each time they landed. The beast roared in agony and moved around quickly to keep up with the offensive force. Joker watched in shock as the monster struggled to fight,

"That can't be…" Asahina ran over breathing heavily, and nodded her head quickly.

"That's Sakura." Kyoko looked at her quickly up and down.

"Where's the heart Asahina?" Ashina looked up at her shaking her head.

"I couldn't get her to fight, now without giving her that heart back." Before Kyoko could say anything back, Joker raised his hand and pointed to the battle between Monokuma and Sakura. He could see she was moving much more slowly, and Monokuma's blows were starting to wear her down. Joker ran forward, reaching inside his jacket pocket and removing the blade he had picked up before. _Alright, time to finish this…_ He dove toward Monokuma with the knife outstretched and felt it pierce the thick fur. The creature howled while Sakura recovered and continued her assault on him. Joker moved forward, using the blade to carve a massive hole in the creature down its side. Gallons of bright pink blood poured from creature until Joker finally ripped the blade out, dropping Monokuma to the ground. He began to slowly disappear as all the other creatures had,fading into black sludge as he growled. Sakura walked up to Joker, the battle along with her wounds having seemingly no effect on her. She reached into her chest once again, and removed the heart.

"I said that if you defeated me in battle I would give you my most precious treasure. It would be a dishonor to lie to you any further." Joker nodded as he took the heart from her hands.

"What do you mean by 'any longer?'" Sakura smiled and crossed her arms.

"You'll have to see that for yourself, but I hope you can forgive me when you find out my secret." Asahina was suddenly by Joker's side with tears in her eyes.

"Whatever it is, we'll be by your side Sakura. You don't have to worry." Kyoko came up on Joker's other side and nodded.

"You don't have to defend yourself from us Sakura." Sakura smiled and shook her head as the world began to shake.

"Yeah, I knew that from the start. Something just came over me, a feeling I couldn't really describe." The walls of the arena began to crack, and stones from the apart section began to fall around them. _Despair…_ Sakura looked around, and the gate that Joker had entered reopened. "Farewell for now…" Sakura's form disappeared as the earth shook, and a wall collapsed across from Joker. He grabbed Asahina's hand, running with her an Kyoko back inside the walls of the arena. They ran through the shaking walls, with stones from the ceilings falling beside their heads. Finally, the reached a rift in the world that seemed to shimmer slightly, and Joker dove in with Asahina in tow. Like each other time the world violently changed and Joker collapsed onto the ground. When everything steadied, Joker was back in the incinerator room with Kyoko and Asahina with him, both rubbing their heads in confusion. Joker took a sigh of relief before he heard a familiar voice in front of him.

"Now, where did you kids run off to?" Joker quickly looked up to see Monokuma standing there holding a large machine gun, pointed directly at him. "Maybe it's time we had a little talk, hm?"


	27. Chapter 27

Game Over

"Monokuma let me explain…" Suddenly Joker felt cold steel smack against his face and he collapsed onto the ground with his eyes wide open. The pain followed quickly and was incredibly intense, with the world around him getting blurry.

"I think the time for talking is over, we're here to play my game. Not yours." Monokuma cocked the gun in his hand and Joker could feel the barrel pushed against the back of his head. _This can't be happening...I can't die now, not while there's so much we don't know._ Monokuma giggled excitedly, but was suddenly cut off. The gun fell from his hands, and clanged against the concrete floor as they stared at the now frozen animatronic bear. Joker suddenly felt Kyoko's hands on his shoulders, and he looked to see her yank him to his feet. They backed away from Monokuma, who was now just staring blankly forward, like he was nothing more than a children's toy. Then, his eyes began to glow a soft green color, and his head turned to face the rest of them. An unfamiliar robotic voice sprang out from within the machine,

"Stay...back…" A moment later he lifted his hand and a claw sprang out from within. He drove the sharpened steel into his own chest, and ripped out what looked to be a time bomb. The color faded from his eyes, and he collapsed limply to the ground. Kyoko pushed Asahina forward toward the door, and turned to Joker.

"Move!" After a moment of hesitation, they ran for the door, past the now seemingly dead Monokuma. Once they all escaped Joker shut the door and ran down the hallway with Kyoko and Asahina by his side. Before they even reached the end, a huge explosion shot fowad from the boiler room, sending flames spilling out into the hallway. The door shot off it's hinges, slamming loudly against the wall. As they watched it breathlessly of the dorm rooms creaked open and Chihiro peaked out from within.

"Did it work?" It took Joker a few seconds to realize that it must have been her who took over Monokuma and drove him to self destruct. Asahina seemed to grasp it quirker and ran to Chihiro, wrapping him in a tight hug which seemed to surprise him. Kyoko smiled slightly, bringing her hand to her chin.

"Nice work Chihiro."

"Um...thanks." He struggled to speak against the force of Asahina's embraced enclosed around his body. Joker moved forward and patted Asahina on the shoulder, who let go of him with a big smile on her face. Joker cleared his throat, turning his attention to Chihiro.

"If you don't mind me asking, how the hell did you do that?" Chihiro smiled brightly, and waved for them to join her in his room.

"I had been messing around with the files here for a while, but I couldn't find anything on how to escape or who might be controlling Monokuma. I did find that the controls for Monokuma are actually pretty simple, but they give me pretty limited commands, with the only really useful one being a forced self destruct." He took them over to the computer and showed them the lines of code on the screen which neither of them could even start to comprehend. Regardless, Chihiro seemed proud of them and sat down to type away. "I pushed my way into his systems when I saw you guys enter the metaverse to monitor if he knew you were there. When I saw him enter the boiler room, i waited for him to make his move." He blushed slightly and looked at the ground.

"Sorry I couldn't stop him from hitting you with the gun Joker, but I really didn't have the time." Joker shook his head and instinctively put his hand on the spot where Monokuma had struck him.

"No worries, i'm just happy to still be alive." Kyoko nodded, and sat down on the bed.

"We all are. Although, we can't get too comfortable. I'm sure the mastermind will not be happy with us for destroying one of their robots. We need to have a plan for when he comes after us." Chihiro typed away on the computer, before turning around to speak with a serious look on his face.

"I can monitor if anymore Monokuma's are sent after us." Kyoko nodded, and looked toward Asahina.

"Gather everyone else and tell them to meet us in the cafeteria, I think it's time we all were honest with each other." Asahina nodded quickly, and left without another word. Joker looked at the security camera in the corner of the room, one of the same ones that were watching them at all times. _No more games...we're coming for you._ Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a small blue shape flutter by. He turned to find both Caroline and Justine standing there side by side with a grim look on both their faces. Caroline spoke first, their stance unbreaking.

"Our master would like a word with you. He has been opened another way into his domaine through your room." Justine nodded, and continued,

"He would like you to come now inmate." Joker looked back at Kyoko, who was scribbling something down into her notebook.

"There's something i have to do, I'll be back as soon as I can." Before she could say anything else, Joker moved out of the room and into the hallway, where he could see the twin wardens already walking toward his room. He followed them quickly, and opened the door to find them already gone, and a large cell door where his bathroom originally was. Within it the blue haze that had filled the one in the boiler room emitted it's soft glow, apparently still invisible to anyone but him. He took a breath, and stepped inside letting the odd sickness pass through his as it normally did. When he was able to recover, the familiar cell walls surrounded him, and the laughter of Igor was the only sound to be heard.

"My, my. This is one interesting turn of events indeed, one that not even I could have foretold. On the very night you save your friend from her suffering, you reveal your greatest asset to your worst enemy." Joker shook his head, and struggled to walk forward to the bars of his cell as he spoke back to the mysterious man.

"The mastermind doesn't know what has been going on, he only knows that we've been disappearing."

"Such arrogance will not be helpful at this time. It is gravely dangerous to underestimate your foe, especially one such as this." His eerie smile became all the more intimidating once he met Joker's eyes, while the twins stood dutifully beside him, uncharastically quiet. "Though, you are the one who ultimately decides your own fate, but now that the foretolded ruin is approaching at a pace much more rapid than we could have anticipated. The game, your rehabilitation, is all coming to a close. I trust you will be prepared for this day." Joker felt as though he couldn't move his lips, his mind was filled with a legion of questions. "For now, your allies require your guidance in this time of crisis. Go to them, and guide them to a future that will be beneficial to us all." As soon as the last words reached Joker's ears, the room turned violently and the walls shook. He closed his eyes and held his head until the movement stopped, and opened them to find himself still in his room, with someone knocking on his door. With his hand still holding his aching head, he stumbled to the door and opened it. He opened it to find Sakura, who stared at him with a steady face. Her eyes were locked on his position like she had been looking at him through the door, and he could see that she seemed to be tense all around her body.

"Joker...may I come in?"

"Uh...sure." As soon as he responded she moved into his room and shut the door forcefully behind her. Joker felt immeasurable small thanks to her overwhelming presence, and yet something was different about her. There was a vulnerability around her, like a shell she had been wearing since he had known her had removed itself from her body.

"I know I have never asked much of you, so please allow me to say this without interruption." Joker nodded, and he could see something that almost appeared to be a smile flash across her face. "Thank you. I have no idea what you did to help me, and I don't care to find out. I watched you all disappear each time, and I was never able to find out your secrets. Hopefully, I never will. But what I do know is that whatever you did, saved me and I can't thank you enough. I was Monokuma's puppet, he used me to gather information that he was not able to gain himself. I'm sorry I betrayed you all…" Joker stood there, before raising his arm and placing his hand on her shoulder. She seemed shocked by the kind gesture, her eyes opening unusually wide.

"You didn't have a choice. Monokuma made us all do things that we would never do if we weren't trapped here. Right now though, I need to know that you'll be on our side through this." She nodded curtly, and put her own hand on Joker's shoulder which felt like someone had dropped a brick on him.

"You all will have me as your ally. From now on, we are in this together."

"Agreeded. Can you head the cafeteria? Asahina is gathering everyone there."

"Of course. I'll fill them in while you prepare yourself." She left quickly, patting Joker on the back as she did so. Joker smiled at the door as she left, the renewed confidence in his friends filling him up.

"Not a bad job inmate." He turned to see Justine and Caroline, looking much more relaxed than they had before. Caroline looked down at the floor, refusing to make eye contact.

"You've come a long way." Justine smiled at her sister's coyness and faced Joker with a closed smile on her face.

"Me and my sister were quite taken back with your progress so far." Caroline snapped back up, causing Joker to take a step back.

"But that doesn't mean you can give up yet! But just if you know...need some help..."

"We'll be here for you, inmate. Be safe." Joker walked toward them, and outstretched his hand. Justine was the first to take it, shaking it softly and once she let go Caroline looked at it a moment before shaking it herself.

"Thank you...both of you." They stood closely together before softly fading away into whatever the other realm they came from was. Joker took a breath and walked into his bathroom. Looking in the mirror, he could see that he was different than he had been when he first came here. Older, but with newfound strength. His eyes were the deep black they had always been, and yet he saw something inside them that he had not seen before. A little twinkle, of something he couldn't quite explain but knew it was what had taken him this far. He splashed water on his face, and with one more look around the room, left it to get to the cafeteria. As soon as he arrived, the room silenced. The attention of all of them, Toko, Byakuya, Kyoko, Sakura, Asahina, and Chihiro was all on him.

"Alright, let's get to work."


	28. Chapter 28

Last Shadow

"Grand entrances aside, what is this all about?" Byakuya sat at at table with only Toko to keep him company, a fact which Joker noticed didn't seem to bother him as much as it had before.

"I believe Asahina has filled you in on all the details, but I'll recap things just in case. We don't really have much time…" Joker cleared his throat and took his spot in front of his classmates. "Chihiro has managed to hack into and delay the Monokuma's games, but it looks like this is only a temporary solution. We have to assume that whoever the mastermind is won't want to play fair anymore, and might take action to finish the game once and for all. So we need an plan to get out of here as quickly as possible" Toko grabbed her hair and shook her head violently,

"What the hell do you think we've been doing this whole time? There is no way out of here, if whoever is running this game wants us dead, it'll happen." Joker continued with his speech before she could go on any further.

"We've reached the point of no return here, and we have no choice but to fight back. That means that we need to work together now more than ever. Whatever plans or ideas you can bring to the table, now would be the time." He nodded to Kyoko, who stood up to continue the demonstration.

"There are multiple ways we can manage to escape, and as flimsy or difficult as they may sound, we need to try out all possible actions if we want any chance to get out of this place." She opened her notebook, and flipped to a page that Joker could see was more clearly written then most of her hastily scribbled notes. "One option is to find whoever is behind this and make them tell us how where the exit is. This may be our best chance, as the actions we've taken might make the mastermind desperate, and force them to make a slip up as to their true identity."

"An admirable idea, but are we still certain that the one behind all this is not one of us?" Byakuya's face remained calm, but there was a clear sign that this talk of rebellion interested him greatly. _Even he want to get out of here, no matter how cool he plays it._ Joker thought to himself as Sakura shook her head, and spoke aloud to the group.

"I can say for certain that it isn't. Some of my meetings with the Monokuma occured while you were all gathered together. Unless they can be in two places at once, it's very unlikely that they would be able to communicate with both me and the rest of you at the same time." Byakuya smiled in his usual smug fashion and pushed his glasses up against his face.

"We of course can't eliminate the possibility that there are in fact two people behind this game. Why, we have no idea whether the orge over there is still working for the mastermind." Asahina slammed the table she sat as, causing even Byakuya to become slightly startled.

"Hey! If we don't do this together then we're all gonna die! We can't keep doubting each other," She sunk back into her chair as Kyoko cleared her throat.

"Asahina is right, there's no use forcing the blame on one another at this point. If one of us really was the mastermind, then all of this would be for nothing. So we must act like we still have some hope that we may yet still all come out of this alive." She flipped to another page of the pad and read aloud, "Our next choice is to contact the outside world. With the proper equipment, Chihiro believes that he may have a way to connect us to an outside group for long enough to form a plan for evacuation. And our final option is total brute force. We tear this entire school apart looking for a way out, or something we could potentially use to escape. This should be our last resort, as the odds that Monokuma left something lying around that could allow us to escape is...slim at best." After she finished there were whispers all around the room, and Joker once again took the floor.

"So, if anyone has any issues with any of these plans, then now would be the time to speak your minds." There was silence all around the room, and Joker took that as a sign of their acceptance. "Good. The way I see it, we'd be better of separating into groups for now. Kyoko, Asahina, Sakura, and myself will begin our search around the school. The rest of you should help Chihiro scour this entire building for any equipment that could be used to boost our singal. Is that clear." A mixed reception of grunts and nods told Joker that they would follow his plans. Chihiro, Byakuya, and Toko left the room together, and Joker turned to Kyoko. "That went well...I think." Kyoko opened her mouth to say something as Asahina came and hugged Joker from the back, nearly causing them both to fall over.

"That was awesome! I didn't think you had it in you." Joker laughed, shrugging his shoulders as Kyoko interrupted.

"We should get moving… time is of the essence I believe." Sakura nodded her head solemely,

"Agreed. Had you some place in mind, or should we simply search at random for any clues?" Before Joker could respond, the doors of the cafeteria opened behind him and his eyes widened as he saw what had come in.

"What the…" A small box, dressed up like a christmas present, sat alone on the floor. They moved toward it cautiously, and after Sakura checked the hallway to make sure nobody was there, Joker reached to pick it up. It was surprisingly light, and when he opened it the head of a monokuma lept out directly at his face. He threw the box away as the machine laughed, but in a much different way then the real robot had. This one was much more robotic, and sounded more synethict then any sound Monokuma had ever made. After they watched it for a few more seconds, the head ceased its mechanical laughed and spat up something golden onto the floor that twinkled softly in the light. Kyoko was the first to move, creeping slowly toward it and then bending down quickly to snatch it away before the robot had a chance to react. She brought it over to the rest of the group, and opened her hand to reveal a small golden key.

"The mastermind isn't going to let the game end yet it seems. Although, this is different from anything we had gotten in the past." Joker picked it up, and held it close to his face. In tiny font there was a single letter on the end of the key.

"M… is that a name? Or is that the room that this opens?" Kyoko shook her head and took the key back, and took the one that went into her room out of her pocket. They were nearly identical, save for the inscription of a K on her key rather than an M.

"This is the key to one of the dorm rooms. There was only one person to have the letter M at the start of the name, but he was killed already. I doubt his murder has any connection to this, but it is worth an investigation at least." The group agreed, and moved toward Mondo's dorm room. Upon their arrival, Kyoko placed the key in the lock and jiggled it for a few moments before pulling it out with a sigh. "It's just as I thought. No good here, but it may be worth testing some more of the doors while we're here." As she began her routine of testing, Joker wandered away and noticed a single door that had been changed.

"Mukuro Ikusaba?" Asahina was the first to hear him, and came to investigate the door. She peered closely at the panel before shrugging her shaking her head.

"I don't remember anyone being in here with that name, but it sounds familiar... " _Yeah...I know that name but why?_ Joker was quickly broken from his thoughts when Kyoko appeared, and slid the key into the hole. In less then a second the door clicked, and slowly opened revealing a pitch black room.

"That's odd… our rooms never get this dark even with all the lights off. Something is different here, be careful." Sakura came up behind them, and gently moved Kyoko out of the way.

"I'll go first, Joker you come with me. Stay out here and wait for our instructions." Before he could say anything Sakura faded into the darkness and Joker quickly accompanied her into the shadows . He felt around on the walls for a light switch while he watched Sakura's faint outline wander the room, her keen sense allowing her to avoid any obvious obstacles. Joker finally felt the switch in between his fingers, and flicked it on quickly. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw Sakura staring wide eyed at the bed. When he followed her gaze, he could see that the curtains looked to be bolted onto the frame of the bed, and beneath it lay the district shape of a human. Sakura lept into action to tear the sheets away, and Joker ran to get Asahina and Kyoko.

"Get in here, there's someone trapped!" The three of them ran back into the room just as Sakura ripped off the sheets to reveal a hideous, burned corpse. The smell hit them almost instantly, and they ran out of the room gagging. Asahina was the first voice that Joker could hear, although it was still ragged from the coughing,

"Who...is that in there?" Joker shook his head, and Kyoko who was now complosed walked back into the room with one hand covering her mouth. Joker followed, using the tip of his shirt to cover his nose as they returned to the scene of the crime. Kyoko was already carefully examining the body, before quickly looking around the room.

"So that game has changed...look." She pointed to the blank TV that stood in the corner of the room like the ones in every other. "Monokuma didn't say his message, so either this body wasn't meant to be found, or it's another new addition to the game." Joker leaned in as carefully as he could without making himself sick, and noticed with disgust how blackened the skin of the victim was. This person would be impossible to identify by their face, since it was hard to tell this was even a person at all. Kyoko put some notes down in her notebook, and read them aloud to Joker as she continued to look over the body. "The victim is female, and seems to have been of similar age to us but aside from that its difficult to tell anymore while they are in this current state. Although…" She leaned in to take a look at her face, and quickly took a note into her book. "Her face is unusually damaged for a burns, as if she were beaten before her death." Joker rubbed his eyes and mumbled to himself,

"Who the hell could have done this…" Kyoko gasped and Joker looked at the body to see that Kyoko's finger sank right into her arm, with seemingly nothing getting in the way of the penetration.

"The victim's bones are all extremely damaged as if someone had crushed theme down under a heavy weight. I know who this is…" Joker could see the rare sense of fear in Kyoko's eyes as the haunting revelation dawned upon her. "This is Sayaka's body… but someone seems to have tried and failed to cremate her corpse." Joker froze, staring at the horribly mangled body as the image of Sayaka appeared momentarily in his head, her purity and beauty now destroyed by this terible image of her remains.

"But why would…"

"I told my sister that you should not be underestimated." They both quickly turned to the doorway to find a girl their, dressed in military attire and wielding a dangerously large knife. In her other hand, she held what looked like two lochs of hair, one white one brown. She tossed them onto the bed, and moved closer to Joker who backed slowly away. "But I guess it distracted you long enough...I should try not to doubt her." Joker's mind began to race as the girl move steadily closer to him, and he stopped as his back hit the wall. Kyoko came next to him, an eyed the girl with an unholy glare.

"Who are you?" The girl smiled, and put the knife away into a small sheath that hung off her hip.

"You'll have to figure that one out for yourselves, and much more. My sister would like to finish the game with one final case in the courtroom. You two, and you two alone, are to uncover the identity of both me and my sister. You have one hour to come with sufficient evidence, fail and I'll be forced to execute the swimmer and her pet monster. Then, I'll come for you." She walked out of the room, turning back one more time to look at Joker and Kyoko. "Happy hunting." She left then as silently as she came in, leaving Kyoko and Joker alone with only the fear of failure in their minds.


	29. Chapter 29

Level 0

Joker and Kyoko stood beside each other for a few moments more in case the dangerous stranger decided to reappear but it was soon clear that she had done all she wanted to do. The fear of failure was in the both of them, and Joker knew that the clock was ticking again. He turned to Kyoko, whose face was unusually expressive as she was already flipping through her notebook. The confusion of who that player was had a clear presence on her face, but there was something for more dear at stake. The headmaster had altered the game, and decided that the only way to make them cooperate was to separate them, a tactic which may actually win out.

"That woman...she looked familiar." Kyoko nodded, and looked up at Joker with determination burning her eyes, erasing any fears Joker held.

"You thought so too right? She was here at the start one of two girls that Monokuma punished right away." Joker thought back to the first few hours of the game. It felt like ages ago when he had first stepped into the gym to find them all standing there. Monokuma's speech let forward an wave of fear that every student in the room felt, which was only then worsened the horror that followed. A girl with her face shielded by a gas mask, leaped in to attack Monokuma in a vain attempt to bring a premature end to the game. Spears flew through her body before anyone could react, and another girl dressed in an outfit better fit for a model then a high school student sprinted in to try to save her, and was swiftly blown up by the animatronic bear. There was something wrong the way that it had all went down, after the explosion there was no remnants of the fight. Not an ounce of blood had dripped on the floor or the walls, and the bodies had disappeared mysteriously.

"Those two girls from the start, you think they have something to do with this?" Kyoko began to walk towards the doorway, and Joker moved to follow her. With one last look at the mangled corpse that had been used to distract them, they both left the room and ventured out into the hall.

"I think that they might be our only lead right now. Finding out who's behind the game isn't the problem, what we're gonna have issues with is finding evidence that is strong enough to prove it." Joker's thoughts moved back to when the girl had told them what they had to do. The instructions were clear enough, discover the identity of both the girl threatening them and her sister.

"Wait a second, that's totally unfair! We're gonna need to go play their game to win, and the odds are totally stacked against us! She's the judge, how do we know she just won't kill us no matter what we say to her!" Kyoko's expression remained unchanged as Joker continued to follow her down the hallway. They stopped at the gymnasium before Kyoko opened the doors and moved quickly inside.

"That's a chance we have to take, we only have an hour to prove any of this. If we want to survive, we have to comply. For now at least." Once they entered the gym, Kyoko went to the spot where the Monokuma had been detonated days ago. Joker wandered behind her, as she stooped onto the floor and examined the area. There wasn't any remenet of the explosion, but there was also very little of interest regardless. The wooden floor looked no different here then it did in any other part of the room. Kyoko knocked against the floor, and her eyes widened a bit. She repeated the action, and quickly looked up toward Joker.

"Take five steps back, and stomp your foot!" Joker complied, and when he did there was a noticeable difference in sound. Kyoko struck the floor one more time as Joker stomped again. Kyoko pointed at the floor that she had been hitting while she rose to her feet. "Right here, the floor is hollow. We couldn't hear it or see it thanks to the explosion, and we didn't have the time to question it." Joker nodded, the suspicion that had filled him that day knowing being given purpose. But, this only brought more questions onto the table.

"So that means the spears weren't real? And that girl's reaction seemed pretty genuine if you ask me…" Joker thought back the model's screams as she leaped toward the spear filled body. Even the best actor couldn't take that kind of emotion, and her rage as she drove the spear into Monokuma was as genuine as could be.

"The spears could easily have been faked, as none of us were able to get close enough to examine whether any of them were real or some sort of trick. And we don't have time to analyze their character right now, if those two are the ones behind this then we're dealing with extreme sociopaths. Emotions likely mean little to them if they were willing to watch us get kill each other for pleasure. What we have now is evidence that neither of those two died that day, now we have to figure out who they are."

"Right..well then maybe we should head to their rooms? If they really were students here, they're might be something in the dorms to tell us something about them." Kyoko nodded her head, and they left the gym as rapidly as they had come in. The dorms were only a short walk away, and as soon as they reached the hallway Joker began to search for any room that looked like what they needed. There was another room that had its name plate changed. Joker's room had a large X marked on the wooden door, and the nameplate beside it said "Property of J.E. Please keep out." Joker tried the doorknob, but with no luck. Kyoko had come over quickly, and began to study the door.

"They must have done this recently. Their toying with us, giving hints because they want us to struggle and try." Joker pointed to the doorknob, and shook his head. Kyoko kneeled in front of the lock, and looked inside at it. "Hm… this is different from the others." She reached into her pocket as she spoke, pulling out a small bobby pin. "All the others had locks more complicated than even I had seen before, but this one is much simpler." After a few moments of struggle, the lock clicked and the door moved open slightly. Joker rubbed the back of his head as Kyoko put the pin back into her pocket.

"Why do you know how to pick a lock so well?" Kyoko ignored the question, instead opening the door and flipping on the lights. The entire room had been changed, with half of it being painted black and the other half white. Even the furniture had been switched out to serve this purpose. Joker shuddered slightly as he thought of how much extra effort it must have taken for them to do this. If they had the time and energy to do something as useless as this, they must have full confidence that they could not possibly succeed. Besides the room color being shifted, all of the new furniture had a Monokuma head on it somewhere. The chair and desk had heads on the ends of their legs, the closet had a big Monokuma stamp on it, and the bed had a print of his face on the blanket. It was sickening, and they both stepped inside to investigate further. Joker walked toward the bathroom as Kyoko began to check around the main room. As soon as the bathroom door opened, the lights flickered on inside to reveal words written with pink lipstick in perfect penmanship. They read, 'You are the mistake.' and at the end was another monokuma face, with one of its eyes winking. Kyoko peeked her head in, and followed Joker's gaze onto the mirror.

"She's just trying to mess with your head, try not to think too much into it." She left Joker alone as he continued to stare at the words, trying to make sense of them. _Everything up to here has been a legitimate clue. This has to mean something as well…_ Joker shook his head, and left the room to find Kyoko holding a small lockbox. It was totally different from anything else in the room, looking more medieval in design than something that would belong in a high school student's room.

"Where did you find that?" Kyoko continued to study the box as Joker moved around the bed to stand beside her.

"I found it under your bed. It looks too small to be a trap, but I can't seem to find a way to open it." Joker held out his hands, and she handed the box gently to him. Up close he could see that it was covered in some strange design, a mix a bright a colorful items and dark, gloomy ones. On the sides of the box, the letters J and E stood out from the design highlighted by a similar pink color to the one used to draw on the mirror.

"It's like she wants us to figure stuff out. Could she really be doing all this just so she could let us fail right at the end?" He clicked the two letters in, and the box opened suddenly. Inside was a small ticket a bunch of small DVDs, each of them labeled with the name's of one of the students inside. Kyoko took the box from him and fished around inside, spreading each disk out onto the bed in front of them. There were seventeen in total, with only one of them being blank.

"These are all too small to be used for a regular disk player. We have to find something to play these with…" Joker did a quick study around the room, but there was nothing that was of interest. Despite the change that had occured, what little furniture was actually in the room remained the same. Joker looked over at the disks, with the empty box beside them. The letters had once again popped back out, and Joker picked the box up.

"Why the letters J.E? They were carved over mine outside too, they have to mean something." Kyoko nodded, and picked up one of the disks.

"She gave us the answer to that one too." She flipped it around and showed it to Joker. The name Junko Enoshima was written on it with black marker. "She's guiding us. Every single clue we found save the hollow floor in the gym was something she made so blatant it would take a fool to miss it. We need to find more evidence than whatever she is feeding us." She began to walk toward the door, turning around briefly to adress Joker. "Look for a way to get on those disks, I'm gonna see what else I can scrounge up. Keep your eye on the clock, we have twenty minutes till we have to go to the courtroom." She left briskly, and Joker returned his attention to the box.

"Junko Enoshima, could that really be who is behind all this?" It was baffling to hear the name said aloud. It was the first time he had heard it, what reason could she have to lock any of them inside a school and force them to kill each other? If it really was one of the girls from the first day, she couldn't be much older then him. She likely had a talent, as would her sister. But aside from that, there was nothing else he could possibly now about her. The catch was, she must now know just about everything about him. She knew his name, his abilities, his talent. He threw the box back onto the bed, and it bounced off the mattress, smacking against the floor with a loud bang. Joker winced, and looked into the doorway to make sure Kyoko didn't see it. When he reached to pick it up, he saw something had fallen out. It was a small piece of cardboard, colored fully black. A false bottom! Joker quickly reached to pick up the box, and sure enough where the disks had been stacked had disappeared, being replaced by a large red button. Without thinking, he pressed it and the box heard a loud crash from the bathroom. He ran inside to find the mirror had popped of the wall, and where it hung there was a large TV screen, with a small slot beside it. Joker laughed to himself, and ran to grab a disk from the bed. The first he grabbed was one with his own name on it, and as soon as he had it he rushed back into the bathroom to slide it into the slot. There was a few moments of silence before the screen flashed on, and Joker saw a video of himself sitting in a chair staring blankly at the screen. He watched mystified as a voice on the screen began to question him, a high pitched girl's voice.

"All comfortable Joker? Good, I want to get this over with so you can go back to your nap. Go on, say it." In the video Joker could see that he was clearly nervous, and was gaze kept shifting to the floor only to snap back up to the camera.

"To whoever is watching… I came here to Hope's Peak Academy on my own terms. I also agreed to remain here while the Biggest, Most Tragic Event in Human History continues outside. I have Junko Enoshima to thank for this, and I am very grateful to her for this chance of safety." There was a sharp giggle from behind the camera, and the female voice came back.

"Very good! I'm so proud of you, I give you permission to say one thing extra. Choose carefully…" Joker's eyes suddenly became much more grave as he looked directly into the camera, and he spoke with absolute clarity.

"Trust your friends. They mean more than you could ever hope to know." There was an exaggerated yawn from behind the camera as the same military girl from before appeared on the screen.

"How corny, go on sis put to poor baby back to sleep. We have a lot more work to do." Joker looked up at the soldier, who grabbed him and pushed a needle deep into the side of his neck. His eyes fluttered, before he faded away into sleep." The screen then suddenly went dark as it had before Joker put the disk in. None of what was shown to him looked familiar, it was like they had someone who looked exactly like him say those things. The more he thought, there was no memory of filming anything on the video. Without warning, the screen flashed on again and there was one sentence displayed, 'How much do we change?' The screen then changed to film that looked like it had come from a security camera. It showed Joker, walking up to the school and talking to Asahina just like he did on the first day. Except, he didn't black out like he did in his memory, on the screen it showed him walk inside with her. The video suddenly began to fast forward extremely rapidly. Joker watched days go by in seconds with dozens of students flooding in and out of the building, the seasons slowly changing in the background. Then they suddenly just stopped coming, but the tape continued as Joker watched with fascination. It stopped to show the same entrance he had come in all that time ago, only now more destroyed and beaten. It looked like a war had taken place just outside the building. The video then cut to black, and the disk popped back out. Joker could feel his mind race with possibilities of what he just saw, but nothing made sense. The memories in his head were not completely true, it was as if someone had gone inside in mind and cut little parts of everything out. If so much time had gone by after he had gone in that first time, then how come he only remembered standing in front of the school, and not going inside? How much time had passed? He grabbed the disk from the machine and ran to the pile, throwing his away. He picked up Junko's and ran it back to the player. Once inside, the video opened to Monokuma's laughing face with the words 'Better luck next time!' flashing around him in neon lights. Joker scoffed, and the disk popped right back out.

"Thanks...real cute." He threw the disk away, and returned to the pile. He picked up the blank disk, and placed it into the machine as the screen flickered back on. It showed the words 'School Trip!' written on a chalkboard as if written by a child. Then, it showed a shaky camera walking down a sidewalk recording people in the streets. The person holding the camera was silent as they continued to walk, before they stopped in front of a large building. It was a school, but it wasn't Hope's Peak Academy. It big bold letters, the words 'Shujin Academy' were printed at the top of the building. The camera then began to move inside the school to show that some sort of fare was going on, as there were hundreds of students walking around and examining different colorful booths. The persona holding the camera walked inside as students waved to the camera and smiled. It finally settled on two people talking, a boy and a girl. The boy was short, with spiky brown hair and was dressed in a school uniform. The girl was a little bit taller with short brown hair and large, almost red eyes. When the say the camera holder, they both turned smiling with the girl blushing a bit. There person behind the camera began to speak, sounding exactly the same as the voice from Joker's film.

"Well if it isn't my favorite Makoto's! We at Hope's Peak Academy would like to wish our warmest welcomes to all of you, and the rest of your school." The boy began to speak first, and Joker could swear he had seen him before.

"Thanks, I heard you guys have a great school. Wish them our best." The camera shook up and down as if to nod, and shifted focus onto the girl.

"And would the class president like to say a word?" The girl cleared her throat, her previous bashfulness replaced by a dutiful look.

"As my friend here said, we wish all those at Hope's Peak the best of luck from all the students here at Shujin Academy. Feel free to stop by after school if you like, me or others on the council would be happy to show you around our wonderful school." The girl behind the camera squealed, causing the blush to return to the council president's face.

"Just as kind as I heard you would be! Well, I'll get out of your hair now, I have a lot to look at." The two of them nodded, and the camera shut off as soon as it turned away from them. The screen shifted to show a still image of the boy who the person behind the camera called Makoto. There was a small flash, and then the picture was on fire, burning until it was nothing more than ashes. Text then flashed in the same font as that from the other videos, saying 'Perhaps in another lifetime.' The disk ejected itself, and as Joker turned to go back to the bed he found Kyoko standing there with her arms crossed.

"Looks like you had better luck than me." Joker nodded, and pointed to the disks.

"Grab one of those, see if you can make sense of these." She moved towards the bed to grab one of the disks, and spoke aloud.

"I checked all around the school but no luck. I couldn't even find Byakuya and the rest, but it could be safe to assume that they have taken them as well. If that girl was able to capture Sakura…" She handed Joker the disk that held her name, and he put it into the player. The screen flashed to show one similar to the one Joker had seen, with Kyoko sitting in a chair looking stoically at a camera. She said the same exact thing that Joker had, her voice dull and emotionless. The same opportunity to say anything she wished had been presented to her, but she shook her head.

"I have nothing to say to you, Junko." The voice let out a huff of disapproval, and the soldier came forward to inject the needle into her neck. Joker turned to see Kyoko with a small smile on her face as the screen began to play the similar security footage. This time, it showed Kyoko walking toward the building beside a man with his face blurred out. She was listening closely to him, as they walked inside the building and the footage began to speed up.

"Thanks to that, we now have the evidence we need to show that Junko was the one behind the camera. That means that her sister is the one in the military uniform, and by extension, Mukuro." Joker thought about it for a moment, before laughing to himself. Even when she knew how little chance she had in that situation, Kyoko still was able to leave a clue for herself. She turned to Joker, ignoring the speedy security footage. "C'mon, we don't have any more time. Grab this disk, and any other one you watched." Joker obeyed, gathering his disk, hers, and the blank. With them in his pockets, they made their way towards the elevator that would lead them into the courtroom. Once they arrived, they saw the military girl standing guard at the door. Joker walked past her,

"Let's go Mukuro." She smiled at the sound of her name, and pushed Joker into the elevator.

"Save that for my sis, let's go." With the three of them inside, they began to descend to the final session. Joker noded to Kyoko, and reached into his pockets to feel the disks. They had a chance now, one they would not let slip by. The elevator stopped, and the doors opened slowly as a blinding light filled the elevator.


	30. Chapter 30

Finale Pt.1

Joker stepped out into the courtroom, shielding his eyes from the light. As soon as they adjusted, he lowered his hands to see that the room had changed dramatically since his last visit. It was half covered in bright pink, with feminine items painted on the walls. The other half was much more grim, with knives and guns hanging from the walls. Most of the spots were empty, and Joker shot a quick look at Kyoko. She was unaltered by the room's odd design, and pushed forward to take her spot. Meanwhile, Joker could feel a hand on his shoulder and was suddenly pushed forward.

"Move, we don't have all day here." Mukuro stepped out in front of Joker, moving toward the seat in which Monokuma typically oversaw the trials. She leaned against the podium while Joker moved to his own section. Her eyes were locked on him as he moved, and the knife that she had shown them before was once again in her hands. Kyoko crossed her arms, and looked back at her with her usual stern look.

"Well? Shall we begin?" Mukuro shook her head, and pointed to the elevator.

"Not all of your friends have arrived yet." The elevator began to grumble as soon as she said that, and disappeared back upward toward the school. In all the madness Joker had nearly forgot about the rest of them Sakura and Asahina had been sent off to protect Byakuya, Toko, and Chihiro.

"You decided not to collect them as well? That doesn't seem very efficient" Kyoko kept her glare on Murkuro, apparently unafraid of the knife she held so tightly in her grip. Joker bit his lip as he watched Mukuro smile at the taunt, and make her way over to Kyoko's stand. _Why does she keep egging her on? Does she want her to get angry?_ Mukuro raised her knife to Kyoko's cheek, and stroked the side of the blade along her face.

"You think you're so clever, but nobody's smarter than my sister. I can't wait for her to take you down…" Kyoko still kept her cool as Joker watched, his heart beating quickly inside his chest. The sound of the elevator returning broke the tension, as they turned to see Monokuma escorting the rest of the students down. His bizarre little form contrasted the rest of them, his devilish smile the exact opposite of the worried looks on their faces. Joker scanned the room, making sure that each one of them was accounted for. Chihiro stood behind Sakura along with Asahina, while Toko clung to a frustrated looking Byakuya.

"Well…now that the gang's all here, give me a moment for me to set myself up!" Monokuma flung himself with impossible speed towards his podium, where he seemed to disappear. The rest of them made their way to their spots, the room feeling noticeably more empty now that only seven of them remained. Joker tried to give Asahina a confident smile, but he could feel that it didn't have much of an effect. Hopefully they had at least some success in helping Chihiro boost the signal, but judging by their attitudes it looked like Monokuma had prevented them from making any real progress. The robotic bear returned to his platform and cleared his throat,

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for our final class trial! I don't think I have to remind you of the stakes, but let's go over them one more time just in case our viewers at home are feeling lost!" He lept into the center of the room as Mukuro wheeled out a small chalkboard. She stood aside as Monokuma grabbed a piece of chalk and quickly began to scribble as he explained. "Joker and Kyoko were given the large duty of uncovering both my identity and my associate over here. They must provide the proper evidence, or else Asahina and Sakura are gonna be pushing up daisies!" He moved away from the chalkboard to show a crude drawing of me and Kyoko crying while Asahina's body was shown floating lifeless in a pool, a Sakura was beaten to a pulp. He erased the image once we had all seen it, and then began to scratch at it with his long metal claws while giggling. "Puhuhu...don't you just love that sound?" As Joker covered his ears he watched the insane bear toss the blackboard away, and waddle back to his stand. Kyoko was the first to recover, clearing her throat loudly to ensure that the attention was on her.

"We were able to come to a reasonable conclusion. Can we begin to relay our evidence?"

"So formal! Talk away detective…" Monokuma starred along with the rest of the crowd at Kyoko, awaiting her evidence. _Something is wrong here… Monokuma is way too confident. Are we playing right into his hand?_  
"Thanks to the tapes we uncovered locked away in Joker's room, we were able to reach the conclusion that the mastermind behind this game is Junko Enoshima, former student of Hope's Peak Academy." There was some murmurs among the rest of the students as Monokuma began to giggle nervously to himself, fake tears rolling down from his red mechanical eye. "Although we have yet to develop a motive, those tapes revealed that Junko Enoshima worked in cooperation with her sister Mukuro to entrap us all within this school, and force us to play your game." Mukuro's confidence seemed to have been shaken, as she looked up at Monokuma with wide eyes. The bear was unaffected by Kyoko's speech, sitting back in his chair and putting his tiny legs up.

"My my that is one serious accusation. Would anyone like to provide another any other evidence that stands against these claims?" He clapped his hands together as he looked around at the rest of the crowd. There was a general unease on the rest of their faces before Byakuya finally raised his hand up.

"I would like to provide a counterpoint." Joker looked over toward Byakuya who stared back with a look of hatred in his eyes. "With all of our lives on the line you come up with a story like that? Why keep this facade up any longer." Joker stared back confused as Bykyua looked prepared to explode. _I've never seen him get like this before. He's usually so much more calm. What did they find up there?_

"Byakuya I…"

"Silence! I should have expected this sooner. I was a fool to place my trust in the likes of somebody like you." His head suddenly spun to look toward Monokuma as he pointed an accusatory finger at him. "Go on 'host'. Why don't you tell the rest of them what you told us?" Monokuma's laughed filled the courtroom as Joker felt his heart pound with fear. Something wasn't right. Monokuma had already planned for us to come here with the evidence. He wasn't going to outsmart us. _He's trying to pit us against each other. What did he tell Byakuya?_ Once Monokuma's mad giggles finally subsided he bounced out of his seat and returned to center stage.

"Well since you asked so kindly Richy rich… I'll let everybody in on our little secret. Many of you folks are probably already aware but your good friend Joker has been taking little vacations from our game. Now you might be asking yourself… what kind of guy leaves his friends to kill each other while he goes on his own little adventures?" Momokuma rubbed his chin as if trying to come up with some kind of philosophical answer. But it was clear that Bykuya was running low on patience. Before Monokuma could let out another quip Byakuya lept in with fury in his voice.

"It's no use denying it. All of you have gone off at one time or another with Joker to God only knows where when the rest of us have struggled to keep ourselves alive!"

"Hey!" Monokuma flashed out his claws and crept toward Byakuya like some kind of feral animals. "Cut me off again and I'll slice you into ribbons! As I was saying… more than one deal was made today. If Bykuya can explain to us where Joker has been disappearing to we will end the game right here. After those who have cheated get punished…" Monokuma flashed his red eye toward me only to resume his giggles. So this was his plan all along. This whole game had been testing our trust and now this was our final exam.

"Monokuma… Junko… whoever you are. Your not gonna win." The words left Joker's lips before he realized he was even speaking. It was like the rage inside of him was reaching its peak. All those fights in the Metaverse, all those people he helped to convict. None of them would die in vain. It was time to bring an end to all this.

 **Author's Note-Hello to all! It's been quite a while since I've uploaded and I am terribly sorry for that. This chapter was a bit on the shorter side but those that follow will be the same size as the previous. I don't normally like to add these little sections but I felt this might deserve some clarification. 'The Ultimate Phantom Theif' will reach its conclusion with the coming weeks. Again I am sorry for the delay and I thank all of you, both old readers and new, for giving my story a chance. Goodbye for now and I hope to see you all at the final chapter.**


	31. Chapter 31

Finale Part 2

The room fell silent as Joker stared at each other both stared at each other with a fire burning in their eyes. _He's really going to try to expose me. But how much can he really now about the Metaverse?_ Byakuya suddenly cleared his throat, removing his glasses and cleaning them with his usual icy expression.

"As all of you know my connections extend far beyond this wretched school. My family has invested both time and money into a great many projects. Some more… bizarre than others." Joker opened his mouth to speak but stopped when he saw Kyoko shook her head. The rest of the crowd seemed to be wholly tuned into what Byakuya was saying. Only Kyoko, Chihiro, and Asahina had come with him to the other place. That meant Sakura, Toko, and of course, Byakuya had never visited it. To them this would all sound like some kind of fantasy but soon the pieces began to come together in Joker's head. What was about to be told extended far beyond the game. If someone like Monkuma was able to gain the powers that he had to change people's hearts, there was no telling what kind of destruction he could cause.

"Could that be… Igor's catastrophe?" Joker whispered the words to himself before looking up again at Byakuya who seemed to be enjoying the attention in spite of the situation.

"I can't expect all of you to understand what I'm going to say and frankly I don't care if you do. All that matters is that this game comes to an end. By whatever means necessary." Chihiro cleared her throat, breaking everyone's attention away from Byakuya and earning a menacing stare from the billionaire as a punishment.

"Wait! Can't we at least hear what Joker and Kyoko have to say! They figured out who the mastermind is!"

"Yeah!" Asahina chimed in, slamming her fist down against her podium. "You can't turn your back on them now. We're not walking out of here unless its all of us together."

"Agreed." Sakura nodded firmly while Byakuya looked ready to once again burst into rage. Joker noticed that this was really the first time he had ever seen Byakuya get this way. He was afraid and this was how he had learned to deal with his fear. To fight to the bitter end.

"Fools! I'm trying to save you! What they've done was against the rules of the game but we can benefit from their mistake! It's simple economics. If you see an opportunity you secure it."

"Byakuya listen to me! This isn't about the game anymore. If we can prove who the mastermind is then..."

"Then what Joker? We continue this charade until either one of us wins or we all die? I can't believe you of all people would see that as a choice." Monokuma's smile watched over the crowd as they fell silent. Byakuya had a hold on them that, combined with their fear of Monokuma, inflicted something upon them that even Joker could feel starting to emerge. It was like a disease eating away at him from the inside hurting his ability to reason. _What's wrong with me?_ Now with the rest of the crowd quiet Monkuma let out an exaggerated yawn.

"Well? We don't have all day here." Byakuya nodded before adjusting his glasses and facing the crowd.

"I have gone through a number of possibilities as to the origin of Joker's escapes. Each came up with a dead end until I realized something that should have been clear from the start. There has been another peculiar issue rising amongst us. The sudden willingness for the guilty to expose themselves as the culprit." Joker could feel the sweat starting to drip down his neck as he shot a look over at Kyoko. Although her face hadn't changed he could tell that she must be holding the same fear in her heart that he had. Bykuya was starting to put the pieces together much too quickly.

"Byakuya wait! Think about this for a second!" Again Bykuya angled his glare at Joker. "If you really do know what's going on then you know what has to be done! If Junko gets that kind of power who knows what kind of damage she'll be capable of." For a moment it seemed like something had changed in his eye and Joker could feel a glimmer of hope. _He's starting to see the consequences if he keeps going._ But before Joker could press on he suddenly found the wind be knocked out of him. He collapsed to the floor gasping for air as he looked up to see Mukro standing there. She reached into her belt and pulled out a ball gag with Monokuma's face displayed prominently on the front. Before he could even struggle Mukro fastened the gag around his mouth forcing him into silence before heading back to the stand. The rest of the crowd was shouting at Monokuma as Joker stood shakily back up to his feet.

"What the hell is this? You can't keep him from talking?" Asahina's voice rose up the loudest amongst the chaos before Monokuma slammed his rubber gavel onto his podium.

"It's my show and I can do whatever I please! Besides… all the best television has a little kinky spin to it." He winked before giggling as Mukro took her place beside him with a smug look plastered on her face. Joker noticed that her eyes were focused directly on Kyoko who met the gaze with same intensity. Eventually the same darkness appeared in Byakuya's face and Joker could feel a twisting feeling in his gut.

"Joker you must understand that if I saw a way out that could take all of us I would accept it. But as it stands there is simply more on the line here than your life." _It's not him talking_. Joker's eyes widened as the voice rang out inside his head. It wasn't his own and yet it sounded so familiar… "Perhaps it would be best to simply reach the conclusion. I believe the cause of all of this has to do with a process my family referred to as cognitive warping. In essence we were attempting to find a way to go inside of a person's mind and change their thinking without it being known to the world.

"Mind control? That's sick…" Asahina's face looked like she was about to throw up at the very thought while Kyoko shook her head.

"It's not quite the same. What Bykuya is referring is more like the most advanced form of manipulation in existence. The person involved wouldn't be able to do anything that would be impossible for them to do in the first place. Instead this 'cognitive warping' would play off their innermost thoughts and bring them into the light." Joker could see the surprise in Byakuya's face following Kyoko's explantation. Joker could feel a similar notion of bewilderment in his own head. _Did she already know about this before? Or is she just showing off what she learned from our own uses of the power?_ His thoughts were cut off by Monokuma's laugh as he rolled around in his seat with comically oversized tears flying out from his eyes.

"Wow… and here I was thinking that I had it all figured out! I guess bears aren't the smartest creatures afterall…" He turned to Byakuya with his devilish smile and began to wobble over toward him. "And if all that's true, would there be a way to have anybody experience this power?" Bykuya shrugged at the bear before turning his angry glare toward Joker. It was almost as if he could see the rage burning in his eyes and yet something was so off. He felt like he was looking back at a complete stranger rather than one of his fellow victims.

"I don't see why not…" Again Monokuma's cackle filled the room as handcuffs shot from the pedestal in front of Joker securing his wrists to the furniture. Another steel restraint came across his chest, locking him into place as panic filled his body. The gag prevented any shouts from leaving his mouth as he saw Kyoko being restrained alongside him while the rest of the class looked on in fear. Only Bykuya remained unfazed maintaining his icy stare on Joker. Sakura lept from her spot but before she could approach Mukro stepped in front of her armed with both her knives.

"Take another step 'ogre' and a slice that freakishly muscular throat." Sakura poised ready for battle but Asahina placed her hand on her shoulder, tears falling down from her eyes.

"Please don't… I can't lose you too." Sakura remained still for a moment as her body relaxed. Joker suddenly found himself being dragged toward Kyoko still held back by his bondage. Monokuma sauntered up to them with his red eye glowing brightly.

"You know… a duel execution always gets so messy. They'll be a lot of cleanup to do… puhuhuhu…" As he finished speaking his attention turned back to the crowd. Joker watched as both Chihiro and Asahina were racked by tears while Sakura stood looking as if she were ready to explode into a flurry of punches. Toko still remained by Byakuya's side, gnawing on her nails nervously as her eyes darted around the room. "Ladies and Gentlemen you know what time it is. We may not have gotten the traditional experience today but that doesn't mean everything has changed! Our main event is still here for your amusement! Let's get to it then. Punishment time!" Joker could feel his heart threatening to beat out of his chest. After everything he had done, all the narrow escapes from death. All wasted. Bykuya would give Junko the power and with that whatever was left of the world would crumble. Humanity would be at the whims of a madman. He turned his head to try to catch a glimpse at Kyoko but with their backs together the movement was impossible. Still to see her face now would at least be one final comfort. Something that Monokuma likely realized it would be worse to deny them of. Without another word, an invisible force dragged them both to the other side of the room. Joker looked in horror as the room began to twist. Blaring music played as holes opened on the floor revealing giant playing cards. All of them had the word 'Joker' written in bold with a laughing Monokuma beneath them. Like something out of a cartoon they each drew a sword and pointed them at Joker while Monokuma's familiar laugh left their mouths. The cards moved to surrounded them in a box with their swords being raised to drop the final blow. _I'm sorry everyone… I failed you._ Joker shut his eyes and tried to erase the despair from his heart as he braced to feel the swords pierce his body. But before they could be lowered there was a sudden _clang_ of metal smacking beside him. His eyes shot open to see that something had been stuck beneath one of the swords to keep it from shutting. _Is that… scissors?_ Suddenly several more flung out around him embedding themselves into the cards to block the blades. At first Joker thought it was another part of Monokumas trap. Then he could hear what sounded like a fight coming from where he left the crowd. Before he could turn his head to see the cards around him enclosed him within, blocking his sight as the machines whined to drop the swords. After a few moments of failure the laughter was cut off and the floor beneath them opened up. There was a sudden rush of air as Joker felt himself plunging into the darkness below. Fear filled his mind as he fell into the pitch black before there was an impact. He could feel a jolt of pain throughout his entire body as he met with solid ground. The room around him spun as he tried to blink away the ache. His hands were now free from the machine, giving a chance to reach up and remove the gag from his mouth. As soon as it was off he let out a deep breath and tried to rise back to his feet.

"What… happened…."

"We were saved. Somehow." Joker looked up to see Kyoko laying beside him. He scrambled over to her, his excitement suddenly halted by the red liquid pouring out from her leg.

"Kyoko! Your bleeding!" She placed a finger against his lips before he could panic further, sitting herself up and looking down at her leg.

"It's just a flesh wound… I'll be fine." Joker watched as she winced in pain trying to stand before falling back to the ground. She sighed and took the ribbon out from her hair and began to tie it around her thigh. Joker looked down at her leg and nearly gagged seeing that it looked like a nail had pierced through her skin.

"Should we pull that out?"

"One moment…" Kyoko finished her makeshift tourniquet before giving Joker a nod. After taking a deep breath her reached forward, clutching the bit of metal with two fingers before pulling it out in one swift motion. Kyoko let out a yelp before punching the floor.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes... thank you." As she moved to get up again Joker placed his hand on her shoulder and shook his head. She let out a sigh before relaxing in her position on the ground. Joker rose back up to his feet, taking a careful examination of his surroundings. It looked like a junkyard with bits of broken machinery littered amongst food and other trash. After looking around enough to make sure it wasn't just another one of Monokuma's tricks Joker took a seat beside Kyoko on the ground.

"Someone saved us? Who?"

"I don't know… likely all of them. You have no shortage of friends Joker." Her lips twitched upward and he could have sworn that it looked like a smile had come over her face. As robotic as she acted even she could feel relief. Suddenly the memory of what had just occurred came spiraling back to him. All their work, all the mysteries they solved had been for nothing. All just to give them that sick false sense of hope.

"We lost back there didn't we?"

"It was a losing fight to begin with. We were never going to beat Junko at her own game. As long as we're alive we have a chance…" Joker nodded feeling a renewed sense of confidence swelling up inside him. She was right. What was important was that they were both still alive.

"Byakuya back there… something was wrong with him. What was that?"

"Junko's doing. I have a theory that she may be more powerful than even she knows. There's a certain sway she has over people to make them do things against their will…"

"Despair." The word came out of Joker's mouth before he even knew why he said it. It was always something that was on the tip of his tongue and yet it was like his brain was to scared to form the words. But hearing it out loud triggered something else in his mind. It was more than a memory. Like there was a whole part of his own life that he had somehow forgotten. "The end of the world. Catastrophe." Kyoko stared at Joker as he rose to his feet with the words continuing to fall out of his mouth. "I… remember. I remember everything."


	32. Chapter 32

Memory

Joker could feel all the information him hitting him like a tidal wave. Memories came back to him so clear that it seemed impossible they had even left him in the first place. The end of the world. His eyes shot up to see Kyoko staring at him curiously, waiting for him to tell her what he was talking about. But he struggled to put it into words. There was so much that he had forgotten, so much time that they had lost. _Where do I even start?_

"Joker are you alright? Did you land on your head?" Joker looked at Kyoko before finally taking a deep breath and settling down. It had all come back to him too fast. He needed to break it down, start from the beginning.

"Kyoko… what's the first thing you remember before you woke up at Hope's Peak?" At first it looked like the question had taken her back somewhat. She remained silent for a few more moments, her eyes focused on the ground for a moment before returning their attention to Joker.

"I… walked into the school with my father. Afterward I remember feeling dizzy and then nothing." Joker nodded along. That synced up with what he had seen back in those security tapes he had found in Junko's room. But then he recalled how the tapes had seemed to jump forward rapidly in time. While it could have been another one of Junko's tricks, he had a sinking feeling that the reality was far worse. He wasn't asleep for a few hours, days, or even weeks.

"When we met a few days ago… it wasn't our first time. We knew each other before all this. We were classmates. All of us." Kyoko raised an eyebrow in disbelief, still studying Joker as if looking for some kind of reason for his ramblings. But Joker could feel his heart started to pound once again in his chest as the memories continued to flood back."

"I don't know what your tal-"

"In gym class, Sakura wrestled Mondo and Asahina at the same time while we all cheered on. On Valentines day, Celsetse bet Leon that he couldn't find a date by the end of the day and he ended up nearly cut to ribbons when he asked Toko. On Halloween, Hiro made up this murder that scared Sayaka so much that you had to solve it before she could fall asleep at night." Joker felt the smile growing on his face as it all came back to them. There were so many good times they shared that he had forgotten about. So much joy that they had all shared. All of it… stolen. He looked up at Kyoko, his smile fading as she maintained her same look of bewilderment.

"Joker slow down. None of that could have ever happened. If all of that were true, then why wouldn't we recognize each other?" That was the first thing Joker began to question when all of his memories came flooding back. But Junko had already shown him the answer. The tapes.

"It must have been Junko. She stole those memories from us. Two years of our lives Kyoko." Joker could feel the steady flow of rage starting to flow through him. All this time when he had been working with people who he thought were complete strangers. But in reality, they were the best friends he'd ever had. But Kyoko still looked on in disbelief.

"This is a topic of discussion for another time. Unless there is something in your memory that tells us some way we can defeat Junko, we have to prioritize getting ourselves out of here." Joker opened his mouth to argue but quickly shut it after realizing that she was likely right. If all of this was true, it was all the more reason for him to get back to those who he cared about. And save them from this hell that they had locked themselves in. He rose back to his feet, taking Kyoko's arm and gently helping her stand. She nodded her thanks to him before taking a look around the room.

"It looks like we're in some kind of trash dump. It smells awful…" The room was dark, lit by only a few lights hanging above their view. All around them miscellaneous trash sat with no clear path leading to an exit. Joker looked back down toward Kyoko's leg, wincing as he remembered removing the metal shrapnel from her thigh. "Maybe I should go have a look around first and get you if I find anything." Kyoko didn't answer, her gaze still studying the environment around them.

"You are right about it being a waste disposal room. However don't you think it's curious that we have never been given access to such a place?" Joker thought back to the final hours of the trial. Junko had promised them total reign over the school but it wasn't out of the question that she kept some things hidden from them. Still it was more than likely somebody would have found a way that lead into here by now unless it truly was hidden.

"So we're trapped down here?" Joker tried to hide the panic in his voice while Kyoko responded cooly.

"No. There must be a way out somehow. However due to the fact we were dropped below ground after already descending to the courtroom, it's more likely that the only means of escape will be an elevator or a ladder." Joker nodded, appreciating her ability to reason even in situations like this.

"Leave it to the ultimate detective…" Suddenly he could feel Kyoko lock up beside him. He turned to face her, his blood running cold as he saw the look on her face. Her eyes were wide and her skin had turned a deadly shade of pale. "Kyoko?" His words did little to affect her. Before he could react she collapsed to the ground, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as Joker struggled to prevent her from collapsing. "Kyoko?! Say something?"

"She is okay. Her mind will just need more time to process things than yours did." Joker spun around to the sound of the voice to see Justine standing behind him with Cathrine sitting beside her on a broken Monokuma head.

"Guess we did a pretty good job training your head for mental trauma. I told you it was working sis." Cathrine sauntered over, tapping Joker's head lightly with her riding crop before returning to her sisters side. Joker turned back around to look at Kyoko. _What did I say? "Ultimate detective?"_

"It seems that you have fully come to realize how dire the situation has become. We would have liked to inform you sooner but our master believed that it would be best for your memory to return within its own time"

"Wait… so that means the Biggest Most Tragic Event in Human History wasn't the cataclysm that Igor has been telling me about?" Both of the twins shook their head in unison. Joker tried to think about on those final days before he and the rest of the students boarded themselves up in the school. Everything was being destroyed. People were being killed by the thousands, buildings were crumbling, and whole cities were being reduced to rubble in a matter of hours. What could possibly be worse than all of that? Justine looked down at her clipboard, acting as though she were reading off it carefully.

"The world was put in a great state of turmoil, that much is true. However there is still something left that preserves humanity and will be vital in its recovery." Catherine suddenly lept in, pacing back and forth with powered excitement.

"And that's hope inmate. It's still out there and it could change everything. But we can't make sure it stays there if you die trapped in a pile of garbage. Understand?" They both stared at Joker awaiting his response while he processed what they had told him. If that kind of hope really did have the power to undo what Junko's despair had already wrought than he had to do whatever it took to make sure it stayed alive.

"I think so…"

"Well you better. Because the clock is ticking inmate. Make sure all that training wasn't for nothing." Before they could say another word, Kyoko began to stir behind Joker. Justine let out a small smile, gesturing to the wall behind her.

"Our time runs short inmate. Behind me there is a ladder attached to the wall that will lead you and your friend out of here. We will continue to guide you as long as it takes, but it must be through your own strength that you overcome this great evil."

"Yeah Inmate! We can't do all the hard work for ya!" The two of them began to fade just as Kyoko rose from her sleep, flinching as she moved her wounded leg. She rose back up to her feet as Joker stared into the darkness where the twins had disappeared.

"Joker?" Kyoko's voice was shaky as he turned around and helped her stand. Her eyes were wide as she looked at him, her face in an uncharacteristic look of shock. "You were right. There is so much that we have forgotten." Joker nodded his head while guiding her toward the ladder.

"I found a way out while you were asleep. Cmon, it's just this way." Together they walked over toward the ladder, Joker leaning her against the wall as he placed his foot on the first rung. He began to climb, turning to make sure that Kyoko was following close by. Despite the pain in her eyes, her determination couldn't be any more clear. Junko may have tried to take everything away from them but it wasn't enough. As long as they still lived, Junko would have an enemy to stand in her way.

"Once we reach the top we must prepare for anything. Junko may have already prepared for our survival…" Joker thought back to when he had last emerged from the metaverse, with Monokuma pointing a gun directly between his eyes. It was more than likely he wouldn't survive such an encounter a second time. As they finally reached the top of the ladder, Joker took a deep breath before pushing open the hatch. They emerged into darkness but as their eyes adjusted Joker began to recognize the room.

"We're in the incinerator room…" Kyoko pulled herself out from the other side of the hatch, laying on the ground while wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead.

"That would make sense. I think...I need to rest for a moment." Joker nodded, looking down at her injured form. It was impressive that she had even pushed herself this far. And he could feel the weight of the last few hours starting to weigh on his own mind.

"Rest here. I'll try to find a way to spread the word to the rest of them that we're still alive." Kyoko nodded,her eyes fluttering before finally closing as she curled up on the floor. Meanwhile Joker walked over to the door, carefully pushing it open to peek out into the hallway. At first there appeared to be nothing there. Until he heard the sounds of footsteps approaching rapidly. He moved to shut the door before realizing who was coming toward him. "No…"


End file.
